The Danger Of Republican’s Trump Defense
By: Edward Anderson
Tags: Impeachment, 2020 Presidential Race, 2016 Election, Donald Trump, Politics

The Danger Of Republican’s Trump Defense

Photo by PATRICK SEMANSKY/AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS

“Some people have said, ‘I won’t vote for impeachment.’ Some House members have said, ‘I will not vote for an impeachment,’ Let me tell you, please don’t say that until you understand what you’re voting on,” Senator Lindsey Graham scolded colleagues in 1998. 21 years later, as the House of Representatives stand to impeach Trump, Graham has made up his mind to acquit Donald J. Trump. No matter what the evidence shows. There is power to be maintained and that is more important than anything else, including upholding the Constitution.

It’s not just Mr. Graham that has these feelings. Many Republican Senators have come out in support of their leader. Some have gone as far as to admit that Trump abused the power of his office but they claim that is not an impeachable offense. It’s not like he got oral sex in the Oval Office. He just withheld money to an ally that Congress had already approved, until the Ukrainian President agreed to announce an investigation into a political rival.

Power Grab

The rival was none other than former Joe Biden. At the time, Mr. Biden was considered the Democrat’s front runner for the 2020 Presidential nomination. Many polls also indicated that he would beat Trump in a head to head match up. Nobody learned the most important lesson from 2016; the polls are not always right.

Even still, if there had been a hint of a Democrat acting badly Republicans would have held hearings and did everything in their power to punish those they disagree with. Even after investigation after investigation cleared Hillary Clinton of wrongdoing in regards to Benghazi, she was forced to testify in front of Congress for nearly 12 hours. Trump has refused to allow almost everyone in his administration to say ‘hello’ to those investigating him.

Republicans in both the Senate and the House hail this as an ingenious plan. The danger for them is they are opening a crack that the Democrats will eventually slither into. Which will cause a lot of hand ringing on the right. And staunch denials they ever did anything like this, even as the videos come out and prove otherwise.

The Audacity Of Law

With the announcement the the Democrats will be drafting two articles of impeachment against Trump, there are sure to be more cries of foul play from Republicans. They have been parroting the talking points that it is a witch hunt and a hoax. Yet, witness after witness expressed concern Trump overstepped his boundaries. Even military heroes were thrown to the wolves in the name of protecting the power they have amassed.

The only reason they ignore what was a flagrant abuse of power is because they feel they have to. In order to keep control of the White House and Senate, they have hooked themselves to Trump’s coattails. There is worry if he goes down, the entire party will pay the price. The issue is the entire party is already paying the price for his actions.

Consider that two deeply red states have elected Democrat leadership over Trump backed candidates. Even if the margins were small, this is enough evidence that the party is in trouble, and something should be done before it’s too late.

Removal Not Neccessary

The solution would be for congressional Republicans to call him out. Historically, none of the other Presidents who have been impeached have been removed from office. It was never believed to be something that would begin with Trump.

With Republicans in danger of losing their majority in the Senate, they need to do something and fast. Coming out against the actions and clarifying why they don’t believe this situation rises to an impeachable offense would be the right first step. Perhaps, they could explain why Trump stonewalling the investigation is not impeachable but Clinton being crafty with his words was.

Remember the Democrats are watching and planning their next move.