I'll say this now: yes, I DO want my "pound of flesh"!

[Atticus]

When we win the White House and Congress, I want everyone of these smarmy smirking sonsabitches who ignored House subpoenas prosecuted. And, I think the penalties should be calculated to be painful and expensive.

I do not want to hear that we have to ONLY "look forward". We can move forward most effectively if we do so on a foundation of "crimes---not just elections---have consequences". To ignore this outrageous behavior insures its repetition.

Lock 'em all up.

[Funtatlaguy]

1. Biden would want the country to move on. Warren would want justice.

[Cyrano]

3. You're right. We can't let this go

If we "move on," imagine what will happen the next time they get full power.

And yeah, I know the argument that when they get full power they'll "take revenge." Republicans don't need excuses to be the dicks they are. We should let them know that they will pay an extremely high price for trying to destroy our constitution. And that price must be high enough that they never even think of trying it again.

(This is a reply to the OP)

[smb]

10. Absolutely

Send a bunch of them to prison for this attempt to subvert the nation, and they won't try again out of simple cowardice if nothing else.

[Ponietz]

8. x 10,000

[volstork]

11. Agree 100%

We need to put an end to this once and for all. Republicans have been getting away with this shit for over 50 years, and every time they get a pass, it emboldens them.

There need to be consequences.

[Scarsdale]

30. Not impeaching Dubya

was a huge mistake. We could have nipped this cabal in the bud. Got rid of Cheney and many others like Gingrich who are still poisoning the political well. The W camp should have been tried for war crimes. So many people died, or suffered horribly because of that war. Plus it made the ME even more unstable. They all made money, so it was alright by them. None of them lost family members, or had one come home missing limbs. The gop is nothing but a group of selfish, greedy TRAITORS.

[volstork]

65. Yes, but

so many of those players in dubya's circle got their start under nixon-- cheney, rumsfeld, wolfowitz, etc. Ford's pardon of nixon was a set-up for all of the misery that has followed. If that cabal had been punished to the full extent of the law, we could have nipped this all in the bud. American policy since 1968 will be viewed by history as a massive mistake that derailed the prosperity of the late 40s-mid 60s and fed the dismantling of the middle class, leading us to what may very well be our downfall if we don't back away from the edge quickly.

[mgardener]

12. That is why I support

Elizabeth Warren.

[TheBlackAdder]

17. The message must be sent--This shit cannot happen again!

[beastie boy]

20. No, Obama would want the country to move on. Mandella would want the country to move on.

I don't think Biden is as forgiving.

[woodsprite]

34. I'd like to know what Biden felt about McConnell holding Obama back from sharing

the info about Russia with the American people.

I would have hoped that he wanted to go ahead and make the announcement re: Russia rather than give McConnell enough rope to hang our country out to dry. Not sure though. I would have hoped that was only Obama's decision (although I feel it was a wrong one). Truthfully, I don't see how coming out about Russia at that point would be any worse than what we ended up with.

[ripcord]

108. Obama's AG ignored a Congressional subpoena and was found in contempt and we were all fine with that

Maybe this would look better if we had started our outrage one administration earlier.

[world wide wally]

27. Don't misunderestimate Biden.

He's got a lot of skin in this game on a personal level.

[LeftTurn3623]

36. you are right

Biden would forgive & forget and that is 100% wrong.

These people need to know they will be held accountable so other do not do the same thing in the future.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

58. That's why the billionaire class is so against Warren

And the effing media will ramp it up against her too. Using misogyny as much as fear of being associated with Liberalism.

[TheRealNorth]

81. Yeah, we'll move on like we did 2008

And those fuckers came back with a vengeance in 2010. Im not interested in repeating history - we need to go for the jugular.

[SayItLoud]

84. Now is not the time for candidates to scream "pound of flesh"; dog whistle like the RePUBICS. nt

[soldierant]

90. Yes. And here's my fear:

So many Democrats are afraid - I guess - that if we insist on prosecution we will look "vindictive" and alienate voters.

I am afraid that if we DON'T prosecute to the maximum extent of the law we will look wimpy and ineffective and will REALLY lose voters - for long enough to lose democracy.

I tthink whether they would prosecute (or allow and direct their AG to prosecute and back him or her up) is something we desperately need to know about all the candidates, as soon as possible.

I don't believe anyone is asking. Yet.

[calimary]

91. The only way we could POSSIBLY "move on" is if we actually did get justice.

A message has to be sent to all future presidents and president wannabes: you DO NOT do this shit.

[Leith]

2. I'm with you

Those buzzards have committed crimes for decades and been rewarded for it.

[C_U_L8R]

4. Speaking of justice

There's got to be some way to deal with all the unqualified judges that Trump installed. They may be the biggest long term threat to this country.

[lagomorph777]

14. Investigate every one of them. I guarantee all have criminal histories (Trump would require that).

Then impeach their asses.

[Nasruddin]

53. Judiciary Act of 1789

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. And no mercy for "Our friends across the aisle"

SCREW THEM x 2

[SWBTATTReg]

54. I agree...they wouldn't show any mercy, none what-so-ever. Time to show them that they've...

awakened a sleeping tiger and once awoken, go after them constantly, without letup, without remorse, until all of them, until every lead, until tidbit of criminal conduct, every tidbit of overlooking their constitutional duties, are impeached, reprimanded, thrown out of office, punished, so this will never, ever, happen again.

[fleur-de-lisa]

6. Yep, fuck that "let's move on" shit.

I want all of the criminals in the ShitHole Administration, and in Congress, prosecuted.

If we are not a nation of laws, our democracy is dead.

[Sherman A1]

7. Yes!

[gab13by13]

9. I'm on board, no mercy.

[lagomorph777]

13. Yes. This is not optional and we need to make our candidates pledge to seek justice.

For decades, we have allowed the Greedy Old Pigs to get away with ever-escalating crimes; each time we let them do it, they came back with worse and more dangerous crimes. Time's up. We have to put a stop to this or we're all dead.

[cab67]

15. "look forward" has done a lot of damage to this country.

We were told to look forward after Watergate. And after Iran-Contra. And the multiple scandals surrounding the Iraq War.

At some point, there has to be accountability.

[Duppers]

74. Amen!!

[kwijybo]

16. Susan McDougal did 18 months hard time

for ignoring the Republican subpoena in the Clinton impeachment. They should all get at least that.

[The_Counsel]

45. This.

[Grasswire2]

61. McDougal was kept in solitary for a good part of that time and shackled to a toilet..

...and sent on the punitive transfer system by bus that moves a prisoner from one site to another just to wear them down.

Shackled hand and foot, on a chain with other federal prisoners.

Sensory deprivation in solitary.

Cruel and unusual punishment.

[StarfishSaver]

64. No, that wasn't it

This wasn't a "Republican subpoena" and it wasn't related to Clinton's impeachment.

McDougal was jailed by a federal judge for contempt of court after she refused to testify before a grand jury in the Whitewater investigation. Completely different case and procedure.

[kwijybo]

69. My apologies

Still stands, though, that they should all get the same punishment you or I would if we bailed on a House subpoena. I'd settle for them doing 18 months.

[StarfishSaver]

73. I hear you. But no one has been jailed for defying a House subpoena in decades

And those that were, were jailed after indictment and trial conducted by federal U.S. Attorneys after the House referred the contempt citation to DOJ which then handled the prosecution.

In other words, they pretty much ARE getting the same punishment that anyone else would get.

[lastlib]

18. I want to START with 239 pounds of "flesh*"....

...and go from there.

Yeah, Lock 'em ALL up--In Epstein's old cell.

(*a term to be construed loosely in his case. Be it flesh, blubber, shit, or just gas in a bag, I want it rendered.)

[Lucky Luciano]

21. What about the other 60 pounds?

[lastlib]

57. Well, on one hand, I want nothing left of him....

OTOH, that could be some nasty sh*t there that maybe needs to be entombed at Chernobyl.....Point taken, tho.

[Kentonio]

19. Fucking Amen!

I’m tired of all this ‘we need to move on and heal’ shit. All it’s done is show the GOP they can do what they want and get away scot free. Burn them to the fucking ground and show them that breaking the law has consequences no matter who you are.

[Pepsidog]

28. No more high road. Crush the bastards and no money to R districts when Dems take power.

[kwijybo]

50. No.

It's not a matter of "high road versus low road", but respect for the laws that we all agree to live by. Either the big-wigs get the same punishment for the same crime, or the system is too broken to continue

[Pepsidog]

60. That's right. Republicans need to be held to account for their actions the past 3 years.

[Grammy23]

22. It isn't about forgive and then move on.

This is about justice and the rule of law. We are either a nation of laws or we’re not. A call to account for the misdeeds and crimes must be done. If we can’t summon up the courage to bring these people to justice for crimes against our country and its people, when will we find a reason??

[Lonestarblue]

23. Trump will pardon every one of them.

[Ponietz]

24. RePukes will concede the 25th Amendment at the 11th hour

Without justice, I don’t know if I could tolerate a Dem leader telling me to move on for the good of the country.

[Pepsidog]

25. I'm with you.

[mountain grammy]

26. We really must start having consequences

On "both sides" for a change would be nice.

[BBG]

29. I'll settle for an ounce of justice

For every damn scoundrel that has been part of this disgraceful episode. Of course that justice will weigh more than a pound when all piled up.

[Delmette2.0]

31. Just one bad apple can ruin the barrel.

Get rid of them all or the rot will come back.

[defacto7]

32. Having no strong and appropriately harsh consequences

would be the second biggest mistake in US history.

[BernieBabies]

33. "Crimes have consequences"

Well said.

[brush]

35. There should also be consequences for those who found out...

soon after joining the trump admin that he was totally unfit for office, as is coming out in the book by "Anonymous".

There should be even harsher consequences for those who stayed for a long time like liar Huckabee Sanders, and also for the worst ones, the ones who stayed the longest—Kelly Ann Conway, Pense and others.

Pompeo and Barr should not be excluded from this.

They all know that orange, incompetent fucker should never have been allowed to stay in office.

[CaptainTruth]

37. Please. We let GW Bush, Cheney, etc get away with war crimes. No more of that.

[Thunderbeast]

42. But, but, but...The Iran-Contra criminals were held accountable!

Oh, Wait.

They were pardoned by Bill Barr.

[mac56]

38. K & R

[usaf-vet]

39. Damn well said! No more just "looking forward". Cleanup the mess we will have been left.

[Martin Eden]

40. I want the rule of law upheld and justice restored.

Saving our republic from its descent into autocratic rule has to be our highest motivation.

Political revenge should have no place in our actions to uphold the rule of law.

However, we can take satisfaction in knowing that the performance of Constitutional duties will very likely result in criminal convictions for those you want to see locked up.

[moonseller66]

41. Hey Shylock! Don't forget the blood!

You could carve up a pound of "flesh" from his fat ass and he wouldn't miss it.
Add the pound of blood to that collection then feed it to the Russo-Republican vultures.
Then he'd take notice.

[gibraltar72]

43. Every Dem. candidate for any federal office needs to

Say no one goes unpunished. Send a message now.

[NRaleighLiberal]

44. yup. off to Gtmo with the lot of them

[Hotler]

46. Every demoracrtic candidate for president should

come out in public and promise no pardons of anyone if elected.

[warmfeet]

47. I could not agree more.

Well stated.

[catrose]

48. I wouldn't call it "revenge," but moving on from Bush got us Trump.

So, yeah, justice for all.

[evilhime]

49. Me Too!!!!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

51. I would like to see Nuremberg-type trials.

Real trials in which everybody gets due process; but the crimes of these miscreants need to be exposed as completely as possible. Maybe not all of them will be convicted, but the Watergate mess led to 69 government officials being charged - and 48 being found guilty, including one former and one acting AG, a Chief of Staff, several WH counsels and personal lawyers, and a bunch of other WH and campaign officials and aides.

[barbtries]

52. it's not even about the pound of flesh for me.

it's for the future. Nixon, Reagan, Bushes, if they had suffered real consequences we would have never had trump. if they skate again come on? we're lost as a nation.

If we are a nation of laws we must behave that way. the law must be applied.

[OMGWTF]

55. The reason we're going through this sh!tstorm is because we didn't prosecute the Bush Crime Family

The Rethugs will keep trying to get away with their crimes as long as we let them. LOCK THEM UP!!

[Raster]

78. Or the Raygun* Crime Syndicate...

...private war in Central America for profit, anyone?

How about encouraging Iran to hold onto American hostages until after the election?

How about a crack cocaine epidemic targeted at the Black community?

How about not acknowledging the AIDS epidemic and the profound loss of life until one of your closeted movie star cronies was affected?

Republican administrations are populated by scumbags doing illegal actions and getting away with it "for the good of the country."

[Perseus]

56. 100% with you on this

I know this is not going to fly well here but it has been my opinion that "moving forward" was the worst mistake of the Obama administration, it told the crooks that it is OK to commit crimes because the Democrats will not investigate and prosecute, so what did they do? they corrupted the election, and they put a monkey who can use a pen in the white house. Of course, they didn't count with the monkey not being domesticated and now the monkey (trump) has created havoc within their party and the world.

[Initech]

59. Lock 'em all up and throw away the key!

[OxQQme]

62. Overhead drone shot looking down

on a bus arriving at a concrete building.
Broadcast in real time on ALL channels.
Doors open - zoom in a little.
An armed swat geared lady is first off the bus giving orders.
Followed by an orange jump suited (*with a belt*) person.
Oh..wait. There's more.
Holy shit! There's dozens of them.
Single file, shuffling towards the metal door.
Surrounded by armed guards.
Camera follows down stairs to a common room. No windows.
Bunk beds. One bath room with no door.
Video monitors on every wall re-playing their public selves over and over, 24/7.
Interspersed with views of billions cheering in the streets around the world.

Back outside, we see the bus drive into the garage.
Oh my....it's directly above the common space below.

The Revolution Will Be Televised.

[0rganism]

63. the candidate(s) who present clear plans for recovery from and prosecutions of Trump crimes ...

... will be doing a lot to earn my vote in the primary.

the one(s) who ignore this situation to emphasize pet projects will be disqualifying themselves.

'nuff said.

[Vogon_Glory]

66. Investigate, Prosecute, Fine, Imprison. Make Them An Object Lesson

To future crooks, liars, wanna-Be Mussolinis, and grifters that we Americans will strike back against thieves, fraudsters, and other vermin.

[Bonx]

67. It's good to want things

Getting them has been problematic.

[cstanleytech]

68. Completely agree. The era of letting those who have committed major past crimes needs to be done

away with as all it does is encourage more bad behavior.

[ooky]

70. I think every one of them that broke the law should be arrested and

prosecuted for it once we have an AG who will do his/her job, as long as the statute of limitations hasn't run out. Every one of them needs to be made an example of so we never have this shit again.

[Duppers]

71. Hell YES! 👍

I didn't want Pelosi to move on with Shrub/Cheney, et al. They committed crimes too.

[dmr]

72. Moving forward is one reason why we're in this mess.

We HAVE to sit in judgement of these assholes, and Soviet-enablers.

Yes, I want my pound of flesh, too!

[StClone]

75. Me too.

Also we outnumber the S.O.B.s calling death threats and doing dark intimidations

for Trump whenever they testify. Or, just being AOC. We want your hide.

[Hoyt]

76. I don't care about prosecution, just get them out of office. Unlikely a jury would convict anyway.

[yellowcanine]

79. Definitely want Giuliani to do at least ten years in the Big House.

[get the red out]

80. Same here

Getting that "pound of flesh" is also important to maintaining democracy by prosecuting these authoritarians. It would prove that the US Constitution is more powerful than they are.

[trof]

82. Right there with you.

[SayItLoud]

83. I want my 329+ pounds of Orange flesh, and every one of the

#TrumpCrimeFamily & #TrumpCrimeSyndicate to get more than fines.

I can still go high when they go low AND want justice and the rule of law to be shown to every young person in America, and that Democracy can work if we weed out corruption and corrupt (tRUMP) people.

[Rorey]

102. Yeah, I'm never going to think that giving a pass is "going high"

Consequences are not just appropriate, but warranted.

[BigmanPigman]

85. Yes, punish them severely for their crimes and set an example for

future political criminals. Scare the shit out of them.

[The Wizard]

86. All crimes happen in the past tense

Saying we have to look forward and ignore the crimes committed in the past enables and emboldens Repubic criminal activity against the people of the United States.

[Catch2.2]

87. Agree 1000%

[warmfeet]

88. Kick,

and recommend, once more.

We can do it. Lock them up for their crimes!

[wendyb-NC]

89. Absolutely!

They should not get away with any of it. They need to face the consequences of their criminal behavior.

[sir pball]

92. Gotta be that guy, and point out that Merchant of Venice is extremely anti-Semitic.

That doesn't detract from the work at all, but it's an interesting study in separating the Man from his Product.

[Atticus]

93. That's called "glossolalia", right?

[sir pball]

94. Nah, it's just a well-established fact it's problematic at best

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-scholars-still-debate-whether-or-not-shakespeares-merchant-venice-anti-semitic-180958867/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/07/28/stop-producing-the-merchant-of-venice/
https://www.adl.org/news/article/anti-semitism-and-the-merchant-of-venice
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merchant_of_Venice#Shylock_as_a_villain

Sorry, but the way Shylock is presented, acts, and ends up is pretty damn antisemitic. I'm not arguing that your asking for a "pound of flesh" is Bad, hell, I want about ten pounds of Trump's head on a platter, and it's a well-established idiom, but the source of it is definitely iffy. The JOO (Shylock) is even offered payment besides his "pound of flesh", but he denies them all, even "the quality of mercy" (Portia's speech I think?) and demands the "pound of flesh", nothing else. It's some of the most amazing English language drama, and it's worthy of all that it gets, but be aware of what you demand.

[Atticus]

95. I had no idea that OP would generate an "etymology" of sorts of the phrase "pound of flesh", but

I appreciate the education. Thanks.

[sir pball]

96. Hey, I agree.

I want my pound or six of his flesh. But the phrase, unlike fake-woke shit like "picnic", does ultimately trace back to a bad source. It's so archaic I'm not sure it is even is questionable, but I thought you should know where it came from.

[Mike Niendorff]

97. Well said.

"To ignore this outrageous behavior insures its repetition."

^^^ EXACTLY THIS ^^^



MDN

[Hermit-The-Prog]

98. follow each and every thread to its logical, legal conclusion

Follow every lead, to every criminal involved.

[kairos12]

99. I say the Dem President organizes prosecutions

on day one. Along with Executive Orders necessary to accomplish our agenda. Also begin impeachment of I luv beer Kavanaugh.

[ck4829]

100. K&R

[Rorey]

101. The chants of "lock her up"

Considering that the repubs are STILL chanting "lock her up" about Hillary, you're damned right we should prosecute. That, and the fact that justice really does need to be done in order to be a deterrent in the future.

[brewens]

103. Hard time, general population. They should change who is locked up in those minimum security

"country club" prisons if we keep them at all. Non violent offenders? Fine. Transfer the poorest non violent prisoners to those prisons. Let the wealthy crooks crawl to their white supremacist brethren in the joint for protection.

[Roy Rolling]

104. Wanting personal restitution for crimes against America

Fuck America, I come first. Satisfying my revenge is the #1 goal.

That transactional mentality is what got us Trump. We gotta think more selflessly than that.

There’s a whole Department of Justice, FBI, and other organizations that will have the ball-and-chains removed from their ankles as soon as Trump and his GOP henchmen are removed from power. And their followers aren’t “soldiers” for the cause, they’re mercenaries. They’ll abandon Trump at the first economic slowdown and they’re unemployed.

Save your energy for progressive causes, and make sure agencies responsible for justice don’t look the other way like under Trump and Nixon. Let them do their jobs.

[Atticus]

105. I fail to see how demanding that Republican thugs be prosecuted in the same way other

thugs would be equates to "Fuck America". That was not my intent. If the laws are enforced and justice is done, most of those close to Trump will do time. That will not just please me, it will benefit the nation.

[LiberalFighter]

106. Damn right

They need to be held accountable and see that there are consequences for their behavior. And the public need to understand that too.

[oldsoftie]

107. Dont hold your breath. I put the odds of anything major happening at about 15%

pure speculation though