Guest
01-16-2021, 05:53 AM
Quote:said:
Ladies and gentlemen... a bonafide member of the party of personal responsibility and law and order.said:
said:
I thought this did a pretty good job of defining the state of things (today anyways). So much could change between now and 1/20....I dont think we've seen the last seditious acts unfortunately.
They say one thing and do another. Empty words are meaningless. How many times have we heard something was outrageous and nothing was done about it? Actions speak louder than words.
To many Senate Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, there's no question in their minds: President Donald Trump committed impeachable offenses.
But getting McConnell and at least 16 other Republicans to convict Trump after he's left office is another question entirely.
"There is no love lost within the Senate Republican Conference for Trump," said one GOP source familiar with internal discussions. "Everybody is ready for this end. But there is a really open question about how many people will vote to convict him after his term will have expired."
Several senior GOP sources told CNN on Thursday that many Republicans are torn over whether Trump's actions warrant the unprecedented step of prohibiting him from ever serving in office again after he leaves the White House next week.
Republicans say it will ultimately be up to a combination of factors -- the case built by House impeachment managers, whether new information comes out about Trump and the deadly Capitol riot and whether emotions are still raw when it comes time to vote -- to determine whether Republicans will break ranks and end Trump's political career for good.
Privately, Republicans have reviewed internal polling showing Trump's support cratering among GOP voters since Election Day -- especially since last week when he incited a violent mob of his supporters to riot in the Capitol leading to the deaths of five people, two sources said. But even after he leaves office, he is bound to still maintain significant sway with the GOP base, something Republicans facing reelection -- and potential primary challengers -- will be forced to confront.
Republicans are by and large split into several camps. Some, like Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, oppose the proceedings because, they argue, it's constitutionally dubious to convict a President once he leaves office, a position many Republicans are bound to take.
"I doubt we can even have a trial for a former President, which is what we are dealing with here," GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told CNN on Thursday.
Others, such as Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, are likely to align with many House Republicans who said that the impeachment proceedings will further divide the country.
"An impeachment vote will only lead to more hate and a deeply fractured nation," Scott, who is facing voters in 2022, said this week.
Yet, some Republicans say that it's critical to lay down a marker to make clear that Congress will not stand for future presidents who may follow Trump's path -- and that the President's actions crossed a clear line that must never be replicated again.
"I believe that this President has committed an impeachable offense," Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski told Alaska television station KTUU on Wednesday, adding that it would be "appropriate" for the Senate to bar him from holding office again."I think that is one of the most consequential actions that we should take, and I think that would be appropriate."https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/14/politics/...index.html
In a statement Thursday, Murkowski said she would "listen carefully" to the arguments before making a decision on her vote, but said the House acted "swiftly, and I believe, appropriately with impeachment."
McConnell, for one, has privately told his colleagues he is genuinely undecided and will keep an open mind when listening to the arguments presented by House Democratic impeachment managers, according to people familiar with the matter. He wants to let the passions of the moment cool down and let the trial play out before taking a position that many view will be the key in swaying Senate GOP votes -- and determining whether Trump is convicted.
"There is no difference in the (GOP) conference that there are potentially impeachable offenses here," the first Republican source said. "I think almost everybody believes that."
Indeed, many remain sharply critical of Trump's remarks to his supporters at the rally last week that preceded the Capitol riot.
"If anything, he urged in a very emotional situation, very inappropriate action by people that appear to be his supporters," said Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, after the rioters stormed the Capitol.
Republican senators, who are out of Washington until next week, are mostly keeping quiet ahead of the trial. More than a dozen Senate GOP offices either declined or did not respond to requests for comment Thursday on the House's approval of an article of impeachment, which charged Trump with inciting an insurrection and was backed by 10 House Republicans.
Even a hardened liberal would have to admit that impeaching a president with what 6 days left in his term and a minority in the senate is nothing but political theater, no?