Special counsel Robert Mueller has definitively put to rest the collusion theory of President Trumps election. Thats not a little embarrassing for the many journalists, talking heads, celebrities and instant experts who spent more than two years furiously speculating about Moscow pee-pee tapes, treasonous rendezvous and the presidents imminent arrest.
The presidents haters no doubt wish to memory-hole collusion and move on to the next anti-Trump theory. But not so fast: We want to laurel the punditry champion the one who peddled the most nonsensical nonsense, the wildest inanities, the weirdest theories and unsubstantiated stories.
Thats where your brackets come in.
Our contenders are divided into four groups (not unlike NCAA conferences): the print journalists, the cable TV talkers, the Twitterati and the network news reporters and analysts. And the brackets are seeded, with the most visible and influential figures contending against the lesser-known.
In the Print category, the top seed is the never-Trump honcho Bill Kristol, who in August predicted that Mueller will find there was collusion between Trump associates and Putin operatives; that Trump knew about it; and that Trump sought to cover it up and obstruct its investigation. Or not.
Enlarge ImagePick your brackets no, not for March Madness. This is Collusion Madness!
Kristol is closely followed by The Washington Posts Max Boot, who in July wrote, President Trumps mantra is no collusion, something he says as if sheer, mind-numbing repetition can make it true. The Mueller probe reached precisely that conclusion no collusion and if anyone was wish-casting, it was Boot.
In the Cable category, our top seed is MSNBCs Rachel Maddow, in recognition of her seemingly interminable rants about the Kremlin not only electing Trump with Trumpian collusion, of course but practically running the US government. The second spot goes to her colleague Joe Scarborough, who likewise predicted Trumps downfall at Muellers hands right until the moment the special counsel shattered the fantasy.
Top among the Twitterati is Benjamin Wittes. The Brookings Institution fellow basked in the media glow that attended his Twitter predictions of Trumps toppling. Boom! he would often tweet after news broke, with accompanying videos of cannons going off. A Boom! for BuzzFeeds discredited story about Trump directing his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress. And another Boom! for Cohens own instantly discredited testimony before Congress. And many others of the kind. The cannonballs all landed with a thud.
Wittes is followed, in the second spot, by Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe, who traded his stellar academic reputation for anti-Trump crankery. In July 2017, he tweeted that when senior Democrats say, There is evidence of both collusion and obstruction, you can take that to the bank. Trump beware! But Tribes collusion checks bounced.
Finally, there are the Network collusion peddlers. The top seed is Alec Baldwin. Baldwins cringey impersonations of a clueless, jail-bound Trump revived his battered career and kept hope alive for liberals and Trump haters across the land. Will he reprise the role now that Trump isnt heading for jail or impeachment?
The second seed goes to Joy Behar, who confidently predicted that Trump is going to end up in prison. The live audience at The View cheered. They should demand a refund.
Poster Comment:
Joy Behar, who confidently predicted that Trump is going to end up in prison.
The ones the AG should be after are the Klinton trio. They and their retinue belong in prison for the rest of their crooked, murdering, raping lives.