We all know, excluding the Washington Post editorial board, that this whole impeachment theater has been a political farce. They’ve wanted to impeach so they went searching for a reason. They left exculpatory evidence out of their reports, they limited who Republicans could call, they have failed to include their bribery and other charges, and, really, if the WPEB wants the GOP to take the Constitution seriously, they shouldn’t be surprised if the GOP impeaches the next Democrat president over minor Politics 101 stuff.
Will any Republicans show respect for the Constitution?
THE IMPEACHMENT of President Trump, which is due to come to a vote in the House of Representatives this week, ought to inspire the utmost seriousness and patriotism from members of Congress. Instead, the process is in danger of being devalued into a predictably partisan House vote, followed by a truncated and inadequate Senate trial. Crucial witnesses to Mr. Trump’s alleged abuses of power may never be heard; the president’s flagrant stonewalling of congressional authority may be allowed to stand. Many Americans seem to be tuning out, having anticipated just such an outcome.
Why have we not heard from Joe and Hunter Biden? Particularly Joe, since he has stated that he demanded a Ukrainian prosecutor be fired for investigating the company Hunter was sitting on the board of or Ukraine wouldn’t get $1 billion in US aid? He bragged about it. That’s extortion. Sounded more like a mafia thing.
Some representatives are exhibiting courage, including several Democrats in swing districts who have announced they will vote for impeachment even at the risk of losing their seats. “There are some decisions in life that have to be made based on what you know in your bones is right,†wrote Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) in an op-ed published Monday. A few Republicans, such as Rep. Will Hurd (R-Tex.), have at least acknowledged that Mr. Trump’s actions toward Ukraine were improper, while questioning whether they justify removal from office.
Yet many Republicans appear intent on refusing to engage seriously with the articles of impeachment and the evidence behind them. The bald declaration by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) — “I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here†— appears to apply to a number in his party, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has pledged to coordinate closely with the White House on a trial whose outcome — acquittal — he has already declared. He and his caucus should consider the damage they are doing to the Constitution for the sake of political expediency.
It was the Washington Post that noted that the “campaign to impeach Trump has begun” on inauguration day. There’s no real crimes included in their impeachment charges. Obstruction of Congress for an investigation that was based purely on partisan Trump Derangement Syndrome considerations? Please. An investigation that provided no due process as required by the Bill of Rights.
Republicans as well as Democrats must invest the impeachment process with the gravity it should have as the ultimate constitutional check on presidential abuses. The alternative is to open the way for Mr. Trump to abuse his office with impunity.
So, they shouldn’t act like Democrats and instead should be serious? Democrats set the tone. But, we should not be surprised in the least that the WPEB is taking this line, but, they are playing to their choir: the latest poll shows this is virtually completely partisan, as
Eighty-five percent of Democrats say the president should be impeached and removed, while 86 percent of Republicans say he should not. Independents split 47 percent in favor and 46 percent opposed.
Pure partisan.
