KNEE JERK REACTION: JOE MORRISSEY FACES CHARGES …AGAIN

Full disclosure: I headline certain posts “Knee Jerk Reaction” because that is what they are: a knee-jerk reaction. I am not a lawyer. I have absolutely no facts in any legal case. With that, let’s get into some family talk, shall we?

The news broke yesterday that State Senator, long-time controversial political figure, Joe Morrissey had been charged in a criminal case…again. I honestly didn’t even hear the charges, the first thing I thought about was a quote from Kanan, 50 Cents’ legendary character in the STARZ series POWER. “Whatever they said he did, he did that sh*t. Guilty as F***.”

The charges are three criminal misdemeanors after allegedly campaigning inside a polling place during the 2019 election.

There are pictures of Morrissey inside the polling place, delivering doughnuts and taking pictures. Morrissey said he was inside the polling place, delivering doughnuts and taking pictures. Now, I’m not a legal scholar (we’ve established this) but c’mon bruh. What exactly are we fighting here?

Morrissey is on record calling the charges “donutgate.” From what I’ve read, he is basically blaming Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring for allowing this to happen. He inferred that the timing of his charges may be political because Morrissey has endorsed one of Herring’s opponents for Attorney General next year. The AG’s office may have the best quote I’ve read in a while, “Pretty much everything in Senator Morrissey’s statement is really so far beyond the realm of reality that I don’t think it’s worth printing,” said Herring’s spokeswoman Charlotte Gomer. Gomer was James Harden-esque with the walk-off.

What is my read of this situation? Is Morrissey guilty? The evidence suggests so. And I’m not talking about the 2019 evidence. The 2020 evidence regarding how he conducted himself around polling areas campaigning for Kim Gray and Reva Trammell suggests to me that Morrissey has little regard for the laws around polling restrictions.

Do I think his arrest is an all-out political hit job? It’s certainly low hanging fruit. I don’t know if it’s a conspiracy, but Morrissey is an easy target. Why? Because he keeps doing dumb stuff.

I agree with Morrissey that there are bigger problems in the world than these three misdemeanor charges. But I am laughing on the inside because there is a pattern: Morrissey is charged, Morriessy says the charges are outrageous – part of a larger conspiracy, then, ultimately, Morrissey figures out a way to settle the case. I think the pattern will hold form again, right?

I’ll leave you with this clip from the old (now very old) Chris Rock Show on HBO. If you watch the clip…you’ll get it. #WESEEIT

Cover Photo by Julia Rendleman for The Washington Post via Getty Images