Why every conspiracy Republicans imagine eventually crumbles to dust

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:

Paul Waldman
@paulwaldman1
·
Follow
The fizzling of John Durham's investigation and the death of Ken Starr remind us: every conspiracy Republicans imagine eventually crumbles to dust.

washingtonpost.com
Opinion | Why every conspiracy Republicans imagine eventually crumbles to dust
Kenneth Starr has died, and John Durham's probe has fizzled. Republicans though they'd both deliver the goods, and they both failed.
11:53 AM · Sep 14, 2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/14/kenneth-star-john-durham-conspiracy-theories/

No paywall
https://archive.ph/BfRDQ

On the day after former independent counsel Kenneth Starr died, we learned that John Durham, the prosecutor who’s been investigating the investigation into the Russian attack on the 2016 election, is likely winding down his probe. Despite being wildly cheered on by the right, Durham has almost nothing to show for three-plus years of work and millions of dollars spent.

Republicans hoped Durham could become another Starr, and in some ways he did, albeit on a less extravagant scale. These two men’s stories tell us a great deal about the contemporary right’s obsession with imagined conspiracies, and why they never work out the way Republicans hope.

Durham failed to deliver, not because he’s incompetent but because there just isn’t much there there. He did not uncover a vast conspiracy within the government to stop Donald Trump from becoming president, or reveal that the entire investigation into Russian meddling should never have happened. Because those things aren’t true, no matter how much Republicans wish them to be.

The New York Times reports that “The grand jury that Mr. Durham has recently used to hear evidence has expired, and while he could convene another, there are currently no plans to do so, three people familiar with the matter said.” In other words, he’s just about wrapped up.

*snip*

[Walleye]

1. They're gonna be pretty disappointed, they were supposed to round us all up and put us in jail

[underpants]

2. Echo chamber. Propaganda bubble.

There’s a feedback loop at work: Republican politicians and media figures feed their audiences an endless diet of conspiracy theorizing, to the point where believing in these conspiracies becomes part of what makes you a Republican. Knowing that’s what the audience wants, the Fox News hosts and GOP officeholders keep delivering more and more.

[emulatorloo]

3. Really good piece. Durham is a complete joke.

[2naSalit]

4. The ashes of...

So many pipe dreams.

[Mr. Ected]

5. It's cyclical

The fox-fed masses never learn from the myriad of their fruitless quests to discredit the Democrat. A light bulb never goes off in their head saying, hey, maybe they've been bullshitting us the whole time. Instead they ignore, move on, and 3 years from now complain that Durham or Starr were never given a chance to succeed.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

6. Just don't ever tell 'em it started with Lady Bird Johnson's mind control devices.

Sure, she claimed they were flowers along the highway, but we know the truth. Do your own research!