Back atcha. Mitch

Eight years ago this January, Barack Obama was in the process of naming his cabinet. Back then, he had black hair and smooth skin.

Look at him now.

If that's what eight years in the toughest job on the planet does to you, imagine what the 45th president would look like after that time. Of course, Trump will be the "healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." Maybe we'll see a kind of Benjamin Button effect, where Trump reverts to his younger self. What the hell, his brain's already back in the fifth grade maybe his body will catch up.

But I digress. When Obama was making his cabinet choices, Mitch McConnell, then Senate Minority Leader, sent a letter to then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid urging that every 'i' be dotted and every 't' be crossed before hearings on each candidate would begin: FBI background checks must be thorough and complete; Congressional Ethics reports must be in each confirmation committee member's hands in plenty of time for an in-depth vetting. This is as it should be. You don't want a bunch of charlatans and crooks bending the President's ear.

Now comes weasel-in-chief Rance Priebus on Fox News saying that there's no reason to delay the confirmation hearings for Trump's selections.

Weasel-in-chief Rance Priebus.

“No, they have to get moving. They have to move faster,” Priebus told "Fox News Sunday." “They [confirmation committee members] have all the information. These are people that have been highly successful in their lives. They need to move quicker."

So, evidently in the Weasel's brain, making a shitload of money obviates the necessity for FBI background checks and peeks into the ethical trail each nominee has blazed. They're successful therefore they're ethical. You don't become successful by cutting corners, cheating, or being underhanded. Really, Rance? Really? The FBI background checks aren't completed. The Congressional Ethics Office (the office your team, Rance, tried and failed to de-fang last week) hasn't released its reports. 

I'm wondering why, when Obama put forth his nominees back in 2008, thoroughness and patience were of paramount importance yet today speed is of the essence. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wonders the same thing. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

To save himself some time and effort, Chuck rummaged back into his files and pulled out Mitch McConnell's 2009 letter to Harry Reid, read it through, and thought 'What's to change?' So he crossed out some names, inked in some new names, and sent the letter back to Mitch. Here it is:

So, the letter's in your court, Mitch. Either honor your words or eat 'em.