Pirate's Cove

Tribune News Service’s Scott Martelle continues with the Trump Derangement Syndrome, wondering if Republicans will ever stand against him

Will Republicans ever take a stand against Trump? | Opinion

Republicans have been engaging in some interesting contortions in conjuring a defense for President Donald Trump’s attempt to get Ukrainian officials to investigate the family of political rival Joe Biden. The most plausible approach is one Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey signed on to last month, saying that he is keeping an open mind but that even if Trump asked Ukraine for a favor, the offense may not rise to a level that demands impeachment.

That’s a debate worth having, and it will likely underlie the arguments if and when the House sends articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial.

My short answer: Yes, what Trump did is an impeachable offense. And yes, it is sufficient to require his removal from office, especially when placed within context of his other actions.

There are precious few policies that this administration has pursued that I agree with. And there are precious few Trump backers who accept that one can oppose Trump on policy grounds, yet also not reflexively back impeachment.

The screed goes through lots of spin as it winds its way, particularly about the firing of James Comey, of whom Trump had every right to fire and it was recommended that he actually fire him, along with making stuff up about Trump threatening to fire Mueller (Scott forgets to mention the outcome of the Mueller report, which was Bad for Democrats)

This is the internal wrestling Toomey and other Republicans will have to contend with. If a president pressuring a foreign government to investigate a political rival for his own political gain and then obstructing congressional efforts to conduct oversight doesn’t cross the line into impeachment territory, then where is the line?

In fact, is there a line that this president could cross that would lead Republicans to put national interest ahead of party loyalty, and vote for his removal?

This is the crisis that looms larger than Trump’s abuses. The Constitution creates the process to hold a rogue president in check, but that check disappears if Congress won’t use it.

That’s all very interesting, and, an argument that President Obama should have been impeached repeatedly. But, one has to wonder, when did Democrats ever not support Obama? When did they take him to task for things like Libya, Operation Fast and Furious, IRS targeting, creating his own policies while avoiding the duly elected Legislative Branch, and so much more? Heck, even as Democrats were losing thousands of federal, state, county, and local seats, they didn’t take him to task.

So, why should Republicans diverge from Trump on Ukraine? They all know this is pure mule fritters, that it was about investigating corruption, corruption that Joe Biden was involved in. They know that this is just a big nothingburger, things that constantly happen during politics, both domestic and foreign.