Rachel Maddow Debunks, Mocks Fast and Furious

From Crooks and Liars:

This segment, though long, should be required viewing for anyone who wants to understand how the right's latest made-up scandal came to be. It's essentially the invention of former militia leader and right-wing agitator Michael Vanderboegh.

On December 8, when Eric Holder testified before the House Judiciary Committee about Operation Fast and Furious, the bungled federal attempt to combat gun smuggling to Mexico, his testimony was met with frequent snickers and occasional hostility. The source wasn't Republican committee members, but rather a blogger seated at the press table. Wearing a homemade press pass in a National Rifle Association badge-holder, Mike Vanderboegh had arrived at the hearing toting an Army-issue laptop case that appeared capable of withstanding a roadside bomb.

A large, ruddy fellow with white hair and a mischievous smile, he had played a key role in turning Fast and Furious into a national scandal. From his home in Pinson, Alabama, Vanderboegh writes a little-known, far-right blog called Sipsey Street Irregulars.

More here, with video.

And you really should click through for the video. Because if you do, you'll find out just how insane this "scandal" really is. Silly me, I just figured it was the standard GOP agit-prop stuff, smoke equaling fire and all that. But no. This is seriously fucked up.

It seems that what's driving at least some of these House Republicans to go after this Fast and Furious gun-walking operation is not that they're trying to make a case that it's a bad idea to allow guns to get into the hands of Mexican drug lords, even if the purpose is to bust them. Rather, it's because they believe that the real motivation behind Fast and Furious is to...okay, get this...create a massive wave of gun violence that will, in turn, sour US public opinion on guns, which will, in turn, give the Obama administration enough political cover to take away our gun rights. The Maddow video even shows a Republican confronting AG Holder about this in Congressional hearings: Holder, looking a bit bewildered, simply calls the accusation "absurd."

And it is absurd. Totally fucking bat-shit crazy absurd.

Really, this is very similar to left-wing conspiracy theories about Bush purposely causing 9/11 in order to amass more executive power. And it's just as crazy and stupid. The only difference is that Congress never seriously considered or entertained these kooky lefty assertions. But they appear to be dead serious about the Fast and Furious conspiracy theory.

Man, is it possible that the conservatives are getting crazier? Or are they already this crazy but we just didn't yet realize it? We are so very fucked.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$