Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas., asks questions to former special counsel Robert Mueller, as he testifies before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on his report on Russian election interference, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, July 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

As I wrote on yesterday, Dan Coats is done as Director of National Intelligence. He leaves behind him a wake of questionable actions and stonewalling in the face of legitimate investigative requests. While I’m sure Coats himself is a perfectly nice guy, he wasn’t the right person for that job. The intel agencies did not need a protector to sweep corruption under the rug via strained claims of classification.

Now that Coats is moving on, his replacement has been announced as Rep. John Ratcliffe and that has all the right people gnashing their teeth.

John Ratcliffe, by one measure the second most conservative member of Congress, appears to believe that the Russia investigation was cooked up by Democrats who “committed crimes.” Now Trump reportedly is considering placing atop the US intelligence community.

— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) July 28, 2019

That’s “Fusion Ken,” who’s made a living shilling for the CIA, including helping push stories to cover for their misdeeds. He gained his nickname by relentlessly parroting Fusion GPS talking points (which were obviously being fed to him) for the last three years. Under Obama, he was exposed for working with CIA officials in order to help spin the former President’s drone program, which was famous for it’s collateral damage.

We are just getting started though. There are plenty more of the expected reactions making the rounds.

The departure of DNI Coats is bad news for the security of America. His successor must put patriotism before politics, and remember that his oath is to protect the Constitution and the American people, not the President. https://t.co/uxLySjxtCm

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 29, 2019

Sen. Chris Murphy dismissed Rep. John Ratcliffe, the president's nominee to become the next director of national intelligence, as a “television character” who is an “inappropriate choice” for the job https://t.co/zg8EaSVhFu

— POLITICO (@politico) July 29, 2019

Rep. Ratcliffe is on the House Intelligence committee, but he’s a “television character” according to Sen. Murphy. For reference, Dan Coats had the same level of experience, serving one term on the Senate Intelligence committee. Why the change in standard?

Here’s Joe Scarborough doing his typical routine, i.e. calling Ratcliffe a “fascist.”

Scarborough on Trump DNI Nominee Ratcliffe: 'Call Him a Fascist' https://t.co/lkpXSAQyP6 pic.twitter.com/zApOEDPFfm

— NewsBusters (@newsbusters) July 29, 2019

These are our moral and mental betters I’m told. A TV host who cheated on his wife, married his co-host, and now rants about fascism constantly while having no actual idea what fascism is. Joe was also in Congress at one point. I can’t imagine why the country has had the issues it’s had given these people make up most of our “elite.”

But the best one was no doubt John Brennan, who was DNI himself at one point.

Dan Coats served ably & with deep integrity. Ratcliffe showed abject subservience to Trump in Mueller hearings. The women & men in the Intelligence Community deserve a leader like Coats who puts nation first; not a servile Trump loyalist like Ratcliffe. https://t.co/fbYgS3MoOM

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) July 29, 2019

Brennan has shown himself to be a rabid partisan. He’s also at the center of the scandal involving the origins and continuation of the Russia investigation, even as the evidence waned. Putting “the nation first” in Brennan’s eyes means running your own unelected fourth branch of government, free from oversight and pesky legalities. Brennan is no doubt sweating at what could be exposed now that Bill Barr is looking into all this. With Ratcliffe as DNI, he can also use his authority to cooperate with Barr in ways Coats refused to do.

Arthur Schwartz chronicled a few more examples of the talking points going out regarding Ratcliffe.

https://twitter.com/ArthurSchwartz/status/1155626373098217473

https://twitter.com/ArthurSchwartz/status/1155878084547158016

Absolutely amazing how all those politicians and media members suddenly started using the exact same phrase to describe Coats. Just a coincidence, I’m sure of it.

Here’s how I know Ratcliffe is the right man for the job. Because all of the people cited above think he’s not. These are the same people who spent years pushing the Russian collusion hoax and have done everything in their power to cover up for malfeasance within our intelligence community. No one is above the law and that includes bureaucrats hiding behind faux claims of secrecy. DNI needs an outsider. Someone who will come in and stop the games and self-preservation. Ratcliffe looks like a good choice to do just that.

I’ve got a new twitter! Please help by following @bonchieredstate.