… They would not look a gift horse in the mouth.
The Democrats’ go-to cri de coeur of the past three years has been to point at Donald Trump’s plethora of daily egregious acts and whine in disbelief: “The Republicans’ hair would be on fire If Barak Obama had done that!” What’s most remarkable is the incredulity with which this lament is expressed. After three years! A daily diet of this! You would think they would learn… You would think…
News flash: Republicans don’t just play hardball, they go far beyond; they cheat if they can get away with it, they will break anything in their path if that is what’s needed, they will violate norms, assault institutions, destroy a perfectly innocent person’s reputation, betray their own ideology if they have one, all for the sake of winning. Winning justifies the means, winning is everything. That’s who they are, get over it.
Oh, but the Democrats have finally responded with strength, they passed two articles of impeachment in the House of Representatives yesterday. What’s more, Speaker Pelosi is not sending these articles to the Senate for the trial yet: “…until we see what the process is on the Senate side.”
That’ll show ‘em! (My tongue is firmly pressed against my cheek.)
The Senate trial will be a sham, it is predetermined. The Mitch McConnell who performed the Merrick Garland maneuver will orchestrate a speedy trial that guarantees the outcome, and holding up the trial for 2-3 weeks will not change that. What Nancy Pelosi has done, as adroitly and skillful as it has been performed, isn’t nearly enough. These are forceful moves, not irresistible ones that can challenge the immovable object. McConnell will not budge.
If the Democrats had a taste for the jugular, they would not overlook the opportunities that present themselves. This week they were handed gifts from heaven which they only whined about: Mitch McConnell, who typically is a master three-dimensional political chess player, shat the political bed by going on Fox News and effectively declaring that the Senate trial will be fixed, designed to acquit the President: “Everything I do during this [setting up the trial], I’m coordinating with the White House counsel,” he said. “There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this to the extent that we can.” He also added “exactly how we go forward I’m going to coordinate with the president’s lawyers, so there won’t be any difference between us on how to do this.” He then said “I’m going to take my cues from the president’s lawyers.” Notably, he added there is “no chance” Trump will be removed from office.
Additionally, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has explicitly said “This thing will come to the Senate, and it will die quickly, and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly… I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind. I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here”
The fix is in. It couldn’t be clearer. The Democrats should be raising hell about it, demanding McConnell and Graham recuse themselves from the trial. Also, Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin should recuse himself — as testimony showed, all in the span of one week in May, Sen. Johnson communicated with Sondland regarding the $400 Million in withheld military aid to Ukraine, talked about it with Trump on several occasions, and travelled to Ukraine to meet with President Zelensky. He should testify during the Senate trial, not be a juror.
Does it make sense, will it happen? Of course not. But at this point, the real jury in the impeachment trial will not be the Senators, it will be the electorate, public opinion. And what we know with certainty about the Republican elected class is, once you have them by the public opinions their minds will follow.
The Democrats should hang tough for as long as it takes, preferably into spring, before sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate. In the mean time, they must compound their demands with calls for witnesses and the subpoenaed documents that the White House refused to turn over. So long as their demands go to ensuring a fair trial, they will win the argument in the court of public opinion. They must refuse to participate in an “O.J. Simpson” trial for impeachment (they should use that phrase, it would be very effective.) Put the Republicans on the defensive. In politics, when you’re defending you’re losing.
Then, some time in the spring, after Super Tuesday and the fears of early primary challenges for elected office have diminished, they should compromise on their demands, pocket some victories they wouldn’t have otherwise gained, send the articles to the Senate and begin the trial after the Republicans have suffered a few fender benders in the court of public opinion. At that point, the 4-7 Republican senators who are vulnerable in their respective states or retiring would be much more likely to be helpful to the Democrats in the trial. Some may even vote to convict. It will surely not be enough to remove Trump from office, but he would be more damaged going into his reelection campaign.
But of course, none of this will happen. The Democrats are not Republicans.
I just needed to vent.
