Whether the Democrats succeed in removing Trump from office has always depended on one thing: Republicans in the Senate.
Some GOP senators are taking impeachment over the Ukraine phone call “more seriously” now, according to an article published in The Hill Thursday. However, the ominous predictions should probably be taken with a grain of salt, since the mainstream media has been talking up a revolt in the Senate for weeks now, with the apparent hope of driving public opinion against Trump.
Report: Senate Republicans shift tone on impeachment
As Democrats proceed with their impeachment inquiry of Trump, the mainstream media has dialed up speculation that Republicans in the Senate will stab Trump in the back as evidence of Trump’s alleged wrongdoing accumulates. Some have pointed to the unfortunately timed, bi-partisan meltdown over Trump’s withdrawal of troops from Syria, which drew a stinging rebuke from allies in the Senate like Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
But even Graham continues to bash the impeachment process as a sham, blasting a Thursday vote by Democrats to approve impeachment rules as “very sad and unnecessary.” Despite this, The Hill attempts to paint a dark picture for President Trump with circumstantial evidence of a tone shift among Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and some other senators.
McConnell has notably said that he would not dismiss impeachment articles outright, and that view has been echoed by numerous Republican senators like Tim Scott (R-SC), who have said that they will take the process seriously. But the article, in apparent echoes of the MSM narrative, seems to cherry-pick quotations to tie a quite measured “shift” to “damning” testimony in the impeachment inquiry.
Senator John Thune (R-SD), who initially called impeachment a “risky move” for Democrats, responded to testimony from diplomat Bill Taylor by saying that the picture was “not a good one.” But such stark pronouncements have been far and few between, even as Republican senators have begun to signal an openness to seeing the whole process through.
“We’re all becoming much more aware of the process and that’s because of the situation we’re in with the House,” an anonymous Republican senator said. “I don’t think they’re going to dismiss it. Right now, based on the facts that we have currently, the president will have the support he needs to get through this.”
Republicans still back Trump
It’s true that Senate Republicans seem to be taking the impeachment process more seriously in the Ukraine matter, but it’s also true that Democrats never actually impeached Trump over Russiagate, either.
The bottom line is that Trump’s conviction in the Senate remains unlikely, regardless of any perceived shifts in “tone.” While Republicans in the Senate have generally been less reliable defenders of Trump than their House counterparts, senators who vote to convict Trump would have to face the wrath of their Republican constituents back home, since a majority of Republican voters view the impeachment as illegitimate.
In a sign that Republicans are sticking by Trump, Republicans in the House voted unanimously to oppose an impeachment rules vote Thursday which they said would “legitimize” an unfair process. And top Republicans have been unsparing in their criticism of the resolution, too.
McConnell said that the resolution “falls way short” of guaranteeing Trump due process, while Senator Graham complained, “When it comes to President @realDonaldTrump the rules seemingly always have to be different.” The resolution limits the ability of Trump’s lawyers to be present during the proceedings, and ranking Republicans also have limited powers to call witnesses.
It would be premature to dismiss the possibility of Trump’s removal, but these perceived “shifts” must be considered within the broader context of the media’s moralizing on how Republican senators “want to be remembered” as the prospect of a Senate trial grows more distinct. Who benefits from the “Republicans are cracking” narrative? Certainly not Trump.
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