The Hearing. The Gunwalker Conspiracy Cover-Up's Dog and Pony Show. Holder's body language to Grassley: "You don't scare me, you old fart."

Dog and pony show is a colloquial term previously used in the United States in the late-19th and early-20th centuries to refer to small traveling circuses that toured through small towns and rural areas. The name derives from the common use of performing dogs and ponies as the main attractions of the events.

Performances were generally held in open-air arenas, such as race tracks or public spaces in localities that were too small or remote to attract larger, more elaborate performers or performances. By the latter part of the 20th century, the original meaning of the term had largely been lost.

The term has come to mean a highly promoted, often over-staged performance, presentation, or event designed to sway or convince opinion for political, or less often, commercial ends. -- Wikipedia.

On an entirely unrelated topic, my favorite rifle is a customized Polytech M14S in 7.62 NATO. I call her, affectionately, my "China Doll."

Why is it that every time I see Chucky Schumer talking on camera, I remember that it has been too long since I did a thorough routine maintenance on my China Doll? Curious. Even if I did it last week. Hard to explain.

I've taken a little time to review the hearing (we recorded it), fast forwarding through the has-been non-entities like Orrin Hatch (who asked not ONE Gunwalker question as far as I know). Why, oh why, doesn't Utah retire this thoroughly compromised and compromising perfumed prince of the Mandarin class? What a waste of oxygen. He used to be something, back before electricity in the Reagan years. Accent on "used to be."


Gunwalker Conspiracy sideman Orrin Hatch, playing "The Sounds of Silence" at the Democrats' dog and pony show hearing yesterday.

As I was moving about during the day (even in the middle of the doctor's visit) I was getting briefings by cell phone from friends on what was happening. From what was reported and what I've seen, here are my impressions.

Grassley, bless his heart, is no Perry Mason. And given the exchange between him and Holder, when the Attorney General objected to Grassley raising a subject that Holder thought Grassley had promised to keep secret, he is entirely too accommodating to the Senate Boys' Club rules for my liking.

He did a good job, within the limitations of time, but it was obvious from Holder's bored expression and body language while Grassley was talking that the cover-up artist was thinking, "You don't scare me, you old fart. Just get the political theater over and I'll go back to committing felonies under color of law."



Senator Cornyn of Texas was more animated in his examination and his staff's graphic (see below) was the hit of the Gunwalker scandal writers -- everybody wanted a copy of it.



The Demoncrats (my father's term) accomplished everything they needed to with this hearing, which was the entire point that they put it on. If Holder was going to be grilled next month by the House, it was better to put him out there this month in the friendliest setting they could to keep the triple cover-up memes rolling:

1. We didn't know nothin', Senator. It was all Phoenix's fault.

2. It happened because we need more gun control. (Sort of like the captain of the Titanic lobbying for more speed, greater iceberg propagation and fewer lookouts on duty, ain't it?)

3. In any case, George W. Bush did it, so shut up about it, thank you very much.

Yet, as Andrew McCarthy, writing in National Review, commented, Cornyn did a pretty good job of debunking that one:

By the time Cornyn was done drawing this stark contrast between Wide Receiver and Fast & Furious, Holder was reduced to conceding, “I’m not trying to equate the two.” That is big of him given that the two cannot be equated. But the attorney general seemed fine with the effort to equate them — to make them one and the same — when it was Schumer asking the questions. Expect the effort to continue. “Bush did it” may be a tired defense, and in this instance a preposterous one, but it’s the one the Democratic base loves to hear.

But of course, it is not the Democrat base that was the audience for this but rather the largely uninformed curious folks who would see what the cover-up artists wanted them to see when they watched the sound bites of topics One, Two and Three above in the media.

In this they were successful.

And yet.

And yet, as a retired Marine friend of mine reminded me last evening, "This isn't a sprint, Mike, it's a marathon." Grassley, he believes, knows exactly what he is doing. Another fellow, closer to the investigation, believes Issa has all the documents he needs to destroy the cover-up.

The question is, will he? Is the GOP, and Issa and Grassley specifically, in this deadly game to win, or just to be on the field?

The committee investigators believe -- indeed, I am told they are certain -- that they have plenty to seek an indictment of "Gunwalker Bill" Newell for perjury. Newell, last reported periodically haunting the corridors of ATF Phoenix like Banquo's ghost, cannot be pleased that the ENTIRE weight of the Obama administration APPEARS (important distinction) to be on his weary, gunwalking head. "Blame Phoenix" means "Blame Newell," first and foremost. He has got to be one scared rabbit right about now.

Yet we know that he met with Kevin O'Reilly and others in the White House in March of 2009. Two thousand and NINE, folks. Surely that is a bargaining chip he has in his pocket. And what of O'Reilly, so quickly stashed away from Senator Grassley when it became evident that Hillary's man at the National Security Council might be grilled about that meeting and other topics?

Have the international airlines all been grounded? Do they not still work both ways? Are Grassley and Issa aware that the aviation industry stands ready to fly one of their investigators to Baghdad, should they discover the cojones to but issue the order?

I say, charge Newell with perjury and convince the conspirators that the committee is serious. If they do so, it will be interesting to see how a simple show of authority by Issa, et. al, motivates the rest of the conspirators to sing like canaries.

Because right now most of them, like Holder, are sitting there with bored expressions on their faces thinking, "You putzes don't scare me."