If Merrick Garland is a Trump-raiding monster, conservatives created him

Be careful what you wish for; just ask conservatives about Merrick Garland.

U.S. Senate Republicans under the direction of Mitch McConnell in 2016 were so hellbent on keeping “Moderate Merrick” off the Supreme Court that they created their own worst enemy, a foe powerful enough to raid Donald Trump’s home with a team of federal agents.

Garland was appointed to run the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency last year, and it looks like he’s been on a progressive revenge tour ever since.

Merrick Garland's DOJ has been on a roll

Hate crimes? Check. The Justice Department has pursued cases against the accused Buffalo shooter and the killers of Ahmaud Arbery.

Abortion access? Check. DOJ has sued Idaho over a near total abortion ban set to go into effect this month.

Police misconduct? Check. Garland’s agency has launched investigations into several departments, including Phoenix, even finding reason to charge four officers in Louisville with wrongdoing in the death of Breonna Taylor.

A year later: DOJ investigation into Phoenix police continues

Voting rights? Check. Since Garland took over, there have been four lawsuits filed against states (including Arizona) over restrictive laws that make it harder for Black, Latino and other minority voters to cast ballots.

Liberals have a legacy of using federal authority

It’s exactly what liberals want from federal authority, continuing a legacy that goes back to Reconstruction through the civil rights era and up to the present day.

The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments granted Black people basic citizenship rights.

It was President Harry Truman who integrated the Army.

And when local authorities made it nearly impossible for Black people to vote across the South, the federal government stepped in a secured access with the Voting Rights Act.

Add to that basic civil rights protections, including desegregation, equal protection, equal employment … is there any wonder Black people and other minorities are more likely to participate in federal than local elections?

But conservatives created this monster

The irony is that conservatives created the monster they’re now facing. McConnell made a noose of loopholes in the Supreme Court selection process to block Garland’s nomination before it was even announced.

McConnell, then leader of a GOP-majority chamber, infamously called it “one of my proudest moments” to thwart President Barack Obama with such an audacious and aggressive move. But since pride goeth before the fall, we should have predicted what would happen next.

Another view: TFBI raid on Trump's home could tear America apart

The conservative overreach and extremism that started with McConnell and led to Donald Trump’s election has snapped back. Democrats took the House of Representatives after the 2018 midterms. Then they secured the Senate and White House after elections in 2020.

The narrow Democratic Senate margin (a 51-50 majority) has slowed liberal progress, but Garland has been draped all over conservatives ever since his appointment.

Careful what you wish for, however this ends

Details in the Mar-A-Lago raid remain unclear. It could be that federal agents are simply looking to secure documents that belong in the National Archives.

Maybe they’re looking for evidence that Trump helped plot the Jan. 6 Capitol riot? (Which would make sense, given the DOJ role in investigating the mob attack.)

Maybe they’re trying to find more ties between Trump and Vladimir Putin? (Which could help create diplomatic leverage against Russia in efforts to free Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.)

Or maybe they’re investigating whether Trump improperly held top-secret documents on his personal computers? (And wouldn’t that be a plot twist! Forget Yahtzee! Try Benghazi!)

But whatever the details, Trump and his conservative cronies are facing a monster of their own creation.

Be careful what you wish for; you just might get Merrick Garland.

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @SayingMoore.

There's plenty Moore where this came from. Subscribe for videos, columns, opinions and analysis from The Arizona Republic’s award-winning team. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: If Merrick Garland is a Trump-raiding monster, the GOP created him