Great point from Chris Matthews last night about Barr testifying

[Caliman73]

47. Since people seem to want Democrats to disregard rules because Republicans are doing it...

It is understandable that people are upset because Republicans seem to be able to do a lot of pretty shady things with seeming little consequence. The problem is that people want Democrats to "sandbag" the Attorney General because Ford was sandbagged by Republicans. There have been threads about "having to play the same game as Republicans". I have questioned people about what that means to "play the same game" but haven't ever really gotten any specific answer other than a general "Democrats need to be tougher".


There are things that Democrats may be able to do like tightening up on their messaging. Making statements that keep Trump and the other Republicans guessing, like, "All options are being considered to hold Trump and the GOP accountable". They could use parliamentary tactics like getting the Sergeant at Arms ready and putting them in the spotlight to signal that they may chase down people who do not comply with subpoenas.

But I agree with you. SOP is not a wrench. It is how the Democrats signal that the rule of law and procedure is still important even when the Republicans continue to be lawless.