If it were not already clear that Senate Republicans all plan to go along with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) plan to rig the impeachment trial in President Donald Trump’s favor, the fact that Republicans are being warned to do so or else should cement that clarity.
Not long after the full House passed two articles of impeachment against Trump, McConnell appeared on Fox News and openly admitted that he is coordinating the impending Senate trial with Trump, effectively admitting that he plans to rig it so Trump will be acquitted regardless of the evidence and witness testimony.
Speaking of witnesses, McConnell doesn’t want to hear from any of them, which is why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is not sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate until a fair trial with witness testimony is guaranteed.
Unfortunately, even if witnesses do testify and that testimony is damning, Senate Republicans apparently still intend to acquit Trump along party lines because they are being warned to stick with Trump or face punishment from their base in 2020.
According to James Arkin at Politico:
GOP strategists see little political upside for any Republican senator to consider breaking with the president on the issue given that they would inevitably see a massive drop-off in support among their base voters. Scott Jennings, a political adviser to McConnell and former adviser to President George W. Bush, said Republicans had little to gain by breaking with their party during a Senate trial.
“But you have a hell of a lot to lose,” Jennings said. “If you look at Republicans in any state — a big Trump state or not — and you’re a Republican office holder, you have a heck of a lot to lose by breaking with the president.”
And so, even though GOP senators like Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) appear to be revolting against McConnell’s rigged trial, that is apparently just an act as she will vote for acquittal regardless of whether the trial is fair or not. Other GOP senators who face tough re-election campaigns are pretty much doing the same even though they know they could be in worse trouble if they don’t vote to remove Trump, especially if they vote for acquittal in a rigged trial.
If Republicans don’t even have the courage to stand against this rigged trial and vote to acquit this corrupt criminal in the White House they don’t deserve to call themselves a United States Senator. Betraying their oath of office and being loyal to Trump instead of to Constitution and country is a sure ticket to infamy that will remain a stain on their record for all eternity. If they are not willing to put their careers on the line to do the right thing, there is no redemption for the GOP. Even when Trump is long gone, the party will always stink of treason and cowardice. Republicans should fear that more than losing support from their shrinking base.
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