Be Damned

The impeachment "trial" of Donald Trump begins tomorrow. This travesty is the culmination of three years of Democrat hatred of a man who defeated them in 2016, and who continues to accomplish things that actually benefit the American people. Even more frightening to the Dems, Trump continues to accomplish things that resonate with the constituencies (e.g., African Americans, Latinos, the middle class and even the working poor) that the Dems always count on for votes. #Walkaway and #Blexit are real and very worrisome for the Democrat elites.

Matthew Continetti discusses the hyperpartisan politics surrounding the impeachment:

... The rushed [House] inquiry and polarized vote on two vague and weak articles betrayed the political motivations behind the enterprise. Impeachment shields Pelosi from leftwing recriminations in the event that Trump is reelected and Democrats retain the House. And the investigations, hearings, and trial guarantee a steady stream of bad press for Trump and hostile questions that make some Republicans squirm.

Pelosi is more than happy for additional evidence to be disclosed and for the Senate to call witnesses, even after the House has impeached and when the resolution of the trial is foreordained. It's not justice she's after. It's victory in November. Expect leaks of damaging information before key procedural votes just as happened during the Kavanaugh confirmation fight. When Trump is acquitted or the charges against him dismissed, Democrats will pronounce the verdict illegitimate and accuse Republican senators of involvement in a cover-up. No charge is too outlandish. Pelosi and impeachment manager Hakeem Jeffries have advanced the ridiculous conspiracy that McConnell has "Russian connections" of his own. "It's a win-win," Chuck Schumer told the New York Times.

There's a cautionary lesson for Democrats in the Kavanaugh episode. As the allegations against Kavanaugh grew more absurd, and the D.C. climate more inhospitable, Republicans found themselves more unified. The senators that Democrats hope will side with them on procedural motions might demur. Susan Collins, for example, isn't anybody's pawn. "I don't think Chuck Schumer is very interested in my opinion," she said in a blistering comment to the Times. "I don't think he's really very interested in doing anything but trying to defeat me by telling lies to the people of Maine. And you can quote me on that."

After the House Intelligence Committee dropped a trove of documents from Lev Parnas, the former Giuliani associate under indictment for campaign finance violations, the day before senators were sworn in as jurors, Collins said, "I wonder why the House did not put that into the record and it's only now being revealed." Good question!

House Republicans voted in unison against impeachment not because they fear President Trump but because the Democratic case was weak.

"Weak" doesn't even begin to cover it, but that doesn't matter when the Dems and their trained hamsters in the media go to work. More leaks, more lies, and more histrionics are guaranteed. The Dems will hyperventilate with every countermove made by Mitch McConnell and his colleagues.

The Democrats have demonstrated that they will never, ever be satisfied with any result that doesn't lead to Donald Trump's removal from office before the election. Given that harsh reality, the GOP should recognize that they'll be damned if they do and damned if they don't. Better then for the GOP to do what they want and let the predictable and ridiculous Dem and media tantrum be damned.