The decline and fall of the Republicans brought on by Donald Trump is nowhere sadder and more unsettling than in their reaction to the FBI search and the warrant that authorised it.

Even the ultimate lapdog, Mike Pence, thinks some may have gone too far.  Perhaps his mind has been concentrated by the attempt to lynch him.

“The Republican party is the party of law and order. Our party stands with the men and women who serve on the thin blue line at the federal, state and local level. And these attacks on the FBI must stop,” he said.

“Calls to defund the FBI are just as wrong as calls to defund the police. And the truth of the matter is, we need to get to the bottom of what happened. We need to let the facts play out,” said Pence, who alongside Trump, is considering a 2024 presidential campaign.

“This unprecedented action does demand unprecedented transparency,” he added, saying that he would call on Attorney General Merrick Garland to fully disclose the reasons behind the recent search.

First, the party of law and order is the main party defending the right to bear arms which makes it impossible for government to maintain law and order.  They say that the constitutional right, which makes it impossible for government to do its constitutional duty, was meant to allow people to bear arms against a government doing them wrong.  As did the people who raided the Capitol.

Secondly, everyone uses the terms ‘unprecedented’ in this context.  So was the Declaration of Independence.  So is Donald Trump.

Thirdly, when the Republicans apply ‘unprecedented transparency’, whatever that is, to Merrick Garland, and the judge who authorised the warrant, they might recall that the only reason that Garland is not on the Supreme Court is their unprecedented step in blocking his appointment.

Finally, on reflection, the Declaration did have a precedent – the English Bill of Rights – including the right to bear arms = which the English have never been stupid enough to abuse in the American way.

U S – Trump – FBI – Bill of Rights – the right to bear arms.