During the Civil War the country was divided by the Mason-Dixon line. This was originally the line between Maryland and Pennsylvania. It was named after Astronomer Charles Mason and survey Jeremiah Dixon.

More recently there was the “Mendoza line.” This was named after shortstop Mario Mendoza, who played in the majors for nine seasons, but never managed to attain a batting average above .199. Today if a major leaguer is batting below .200, he is considered to be below the “Mendoza Line.”

Now we have the “Menendez line” in honor of Senator Robert Menendez. Menendez is a Democratic Senator from New Jersey. He has been indicted for bribery. This is not the first time he has been indicted. That also happened in 2015. The trial ended up with a hung jury, and he remained in office. In 2015 Democrats did not turn on Menendez. This time, the charges are much more serious, they appear to be well documented and top Democrats have already turned on him.

So, what changed? Or more significantly, why now? One obvious answer is the apparent corruption of Robert Menendez makes Joe and Hunter Biden look like amateurs in comparison. Or at least, that is what the MSM wants you to believe. Another is that this is guaranteed to distract from the Hunter Biden trial for illegally buying a gun and then throwing it away in the trash. Or at least some people seriously hope this is what happens.

In addition, this may be an effort by the DOJ to argue that they aren’t partisan, they investigate criminals in both parties. Right! No one buys that. The only thing certain is that the timing of this is extremely unlikely to be accidental.

This indictment does something else. It makes all the indictments against Donald Trump look rather silly in comparison. Bribery and corruption is more serious than throwing a hissy fit over the 2020 election. (Hillary?) In addition, recent court cases may bring some serious focus, for the first time, regarding the obvious problems with mail-in ballots during the 2020 election. Just like the recent investigation of Hunter and Joe Biden showed that Trump’s comments with Zelensky were not only appropriate, but they were also necessary. Trump was impeached by Democrats for pointing out the truth.

In any event, I think we have a new “Menendez Line.” It is a line between the corruption we have come to expect from elected officials and this a level of bribery that is too obvious to ignore. The wise thing for Menendez to do would be to resign and cut a plea deal. That is also the least likely outcome. He will instead hire attorneys highly skilled at defending against bribery claims. You know, like the ones hired by Hunter and Joe Biden.

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez hires Hunter Biden lawyer for bribery case (msn.com)

This probably won’t work for one simple reason. Truly innocent people usually don’t need to hire extremely expensive legal counsel. They just let the facts speak for themselves. That, of course, is something Menendez will never even consider.

This will have an impact on a lot of things. It will impact the impeachment inquiry regarding Joe Biden. It will impact the numerous indictments against Donald Trump. It will give the Democratic Party the covets sacrificial lamb so they can hold on to the illusion of President Joe Biden for just a little bit longer. It will rock the establishment ship of state and we may not learn the full impact for a long time. The only thing certain is that we have crossed the “Menendez Line”, and change is on the way.

TDM