Senate Republicans have drawn a line in the sand on impeachment.
With complete control over the chamber, they’re warning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that any attempt to impeach President Donald Trump will turn into a quick and complete humiliation for the left once the case reaches the Senate.
“It would be defeated,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex., told The Hill matter-of-factly. “That’s why all they want to do is talk about it. They know what the outcome would be.”
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It’s not just a matter of defeat for the Democrats in terms of a floor vote.
Control over the chamber comes with control over its agenda, so Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and his GOP majority can ensure the briefest possible hearings and even guarantee that not a single witness is called.
“I think it would be disposed of very quickly,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, told The Hill. “If it’s based on the Mueller report or anything like that, it would be quickly disposed of.”
In sports terms, it’s a game that’s over before the first commercial break.
“Why on earth would we give a platform to something that I judge as a purely political exercise?” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., also told The Hill.
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Republicans know they not only hold the majority in the Senate, but they also have something else in their favor that’s even more important: Public opinion.
Americans DON’T want impeachment – and it’s not even close.
One poll by Quinnipiac University showed Americans rejecting impeachment by a two-to-one margin!
Of course, Pelosi likely knows all this, which is why she’s trying to have it both ways.
Speaking out of one side of her mouth, she’s tossed around the “I word” to fire up her base.
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“The president is almost self-impeaching,” she said earlier this month.
And speaking out of the other, she’s repeatedly signaled that impeachment isn’t likely on her watch.
“Yes, these could be impeachable offenses,” she said last week, then quickly walked it back with a vow for investigations instead of impeachment.
“If we can get the facts to the American people through our investigation, it may take us to a place that is unavoidable in terms of impeachment or not,” she said. “But we’re not at that place.”
That has the base livid.
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“Pelosi’s arguments against initiating impeachment are so obviously weak,” Susan Hennessey, editor of the Lawfare website, wrote on Twitter. “This is starting to feel more like House Dems actually just don’t know what they’re doing.”
Liberal billionaire Tom Steyer, a major donor to Democratic candidates, has released ads attacking the party on impeachment – and specifically slamming calls to let Americans decide the issue with their votes for president and Congress in next year’s election.
“When this President took money from foreign governments and blocked their release of his tax returns, nothing happened. And when his administration illegally refused to testify, nothing happened,” the TV spot says. “Now you tell us to wait for the next election? Really?”
Since October 2017, we have been demanding that Congress hold this criminal president accountable. Over 8 million Americans have joined the movement. We applaud the many members of Congress who have joined us this week. We must begin impeachment proceedings immediately.
— Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) May 22, 2019
Politico reports that Pelosi was privately “peeved” over the ad.
Her base wants impeachment and they want it now – and not only will that hurt the left in public opinion, as the Quinnipiac poll shows, it’ll also lead to a more divisive primary season that could see a number of cautious “old guard” Democrats tossed out in favor of more fire-breathing radicals.
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That could give the party a slate of unelectable fringe candidates across the board – and spell doom for the Democrats in 2020.
No wonder Pelosi is running scared!
— Walter W. Murray is a reporter for The Horn News. He is an outspoken conservative and a survival expert, and is the author of “America’s Final Warning.”