Last week Donald Trump became the first reality TV game show host to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. In the days that followed, the humiliation and fear that consumes him was on display as he lashed out at those he imagines are persecuting him. Trump’s Twitter feed was afire with the shock and fury of someone who was never quite capable of grasping the gravity of his situation.
Trump’s dissociation from reality extended to his bootlicking sycophants on his staff and in the media. They cravenly floated bizarre legal theories that posited that Trump wasn’t really impeached at all. But not satisfied with that nonsense, they contradicted themselves to assert that he was indeed impeached, but that that only revealed some sort of failing on the part of the Democrats. And in that vein, Trump and company fielded several absurd rebuttals to his impeachment. Much of it was focused on Pelosi’s decision to hold off on transmitting it to the Senate until GOP leader Mitch McConnell set forth procedures to insure a complete and fair hearing.
The first of these rebuttals was an allegation that Pelosi was afraid to send the impeachment to the Senate. That premise is so ridiculous it hardly needs to be addressed. But for the record, how could Pelosi be accused of being afraid after she courageously pursued and successfully completed the impeachment? And why would anyone regard her giving the Senate ultimatums as being evidence of fear? That’s a pure power play. It’s actually Trump’s team that is fearful as they try vainly to goad Pelosi into abandoning her demands for fairness. The last thing Republicans want is a fair hearing with relevant witnesses and document production.
Next the Trumpsters tried to make the argument that Pelosi wasn’t transmitting the impeachment because the case against Trump had not been made. But all anyone has to do is read the Articles of Impeachment to see how incriminating the facts are. Democrats want to fortify the case with testimony that Trump has been vigorously obstructing. And that obstruction is further evidence that Trump is the one who is worried about the strength of the case against him and feels it necessary to suppress evidence.
Perhaps the dumbest of the Republican rebuffs is their complaint that Pelosi’s delay somehow contradicts a made up assertion that Democrats were in a hurry to impeach Trump. It’s fair to say that Democrats want to proceed expeditiously, but not at the expense of the integrity of the process and its results. At no time has Pelosi, or any Democrat, suggested that speed was a requirement that superseded the pursuit of the truth. Trumpists are just hoping to bully Democrats into rushing through this in the hopes that Trump’s crimes will be overlooked.
Finally, the Trump apologists believe that Pelosi is violating the Constitution by not immediately transmitting the impeachment to the Senate. Of course, they cannot provide any clause that supports that theory. The Constitution merely states that “The House of Representatives…shall have the sole power of impeachment,” and that “The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments.” There is nothing that directs any timeline for carrying out these obligations.
All of these arguments are simply diversions by Trump and the GOP to divert attention away from the facts. Note that none of these arguments – or the people making them – bother to refute the factual record. There’s a reason for that. They have no coherent rebuttal. So the only hope they have is to distract and continue to suppress the emergence of any more incriminating evidence, which is coming out anyway. And they know this. Which is why they are the ones who are so scared and resorting to these painfully lame and desperate ploys.
How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.
