Another cogent, succinct piece by Mr. Blow. I applaud his clear vision and his aptitude for putting thought to print.
Since the start of this president's term I have heard non-stop appeals for Republicans to come to their senses and do the right thing; in article after article, post after post, tweet after tweet. Progressive friends of mine wonder aloud how conservatives can go along with someone so devoid of principle, so lacking in mental fitness, so utterly callous in his comments and actions toward fellow Americans; someone with such a blatant disregard for the laws and constitution of the country he leads.
But I think they miss this critical point in showing surprise and hoping for change from Republicans in Congress and their Trump supporting constituents. Trumpism is the manifestation of the ideas and philosophy of the vast majority of today's Republicans. In their minds they ARE doing the right thing.
I am convinced they will happily sacrifice our democracy if they can achieve their major objectives: A country that is white, Christian and patriarchal and which has as its guiding principles a belief in unfettered capitalism, a worship of an extreme interpretation of the 2nd amendment, and a distorted view of what it means to be pro life.
What the majority of us see as the rational checks and balances of a democracy they see as obstacles. Where we find offense in irrationality, ineptitude and immorality, they embrace it as a means to an end.
237
@Robert Garneau
I find your comment as cogent, succinct, and impressive as Mr. Blow’s piece. Thank you.
26
@BeeBop
Thank you for the kind words.
6
Call you naive regarding some Republican legislators having integrity? Yes; you’re naive. Otherwise, on point.
9
Sometimes songs help us formulate resolve.
Survivor's Burning Heart fits this. Give it a listen.
Two worlds collide
Rival nations
It's a primitive clash
Venting years of frustrations
Bravely we hope
Against all hope
There is so much at stake
Seems our freedom's up
Against the ropes
Does the crowd understand?
Is it East versus West
Or man against man
Can any nation stand alone
In the burning heart
Just about to burst
There's a quest for answers
An unquenchable thirst
In the darkest night
Rising like a spire
In the burning heart
The unmistakable fire
In the burning heart
In the warrior's code
There's no surrender
Though his body says stop
His spirit cries, never!
Deep in our soul
A quiet ember
Know it's you against you
It's the paradox
That drives us on
It's a battle of wills
In the heat of attack
It's the passion that kills
The victory is yours alone
1
Any republican that wants to defect and challenge trump morally has to assume trump will go after them too and all the skeletons in their closets. Self-preservation seems to be the unspoken mantra.
5
Mr.Blow, you are just pointing out the obvious here. I read the entire transcript and saw no impeachable offense. Sure, the fairy that was read by Adam Schiff sounded pretty bad but...again, I read the document. He took more liberties with the truth than anyone I have had to listen to in a long time. Nothing is ever as one sided as you are portraying it. There are jackals in the democratic party and the republican party. Their collective egos are destroying America.
1
One outcome is certain when you hire scoundrels - they will all turn on each when the going gets tough. Watching this den of vipers wage internal war in the White House will be more brutal than an episode of National Geographic's wild hunters.
3
Dream on, Charles. The republican party has been a party of no since Nixon. They represent all the wrong things and Trump is their stooge. They like the way things are now and Trump is helping them. With Mitch in the senate, they can rest assured that nothing of any import will be passed in congress this year. They have all they wanted are resting while Trump takes up the news.
3
Let me get this straight. First Trump extorts a head of state of a foreign power to interfere in US politics. This is noted by several observers who worriedly report this to a certain CIA official, who being a good subordinate, reports it to HIS superior. The Inspector General agrees with him and files HIS report. Other W.H. officials, aware of the danger of this getting out, try to bury this finding. Our CIA official, being no dummy, sends this information in a letter to Congress. Then the president and his agent, 'America's Mayor,' basically admit what they did. Then our dear president accuses various and sundry of 'treason' and spying, suggesting--never explicitly of course--that they be dealt with. Am I crazy? Did this really happen? Or is the political system so debauched by this vulgarian that there is no bottom? I have never seen it this bad.
17
Those Republican senators who think they are shielded under Trump's powerful cape should try this test: How many members of Elvis Presley's band can you name?
2
Thanks once again, Mr. Blow, for shedding such bright, explanatory light on the malevolent wretch parading around as POTUS. Trump isn't the first ignorant, arrogant, despicable and incompetent person in that position, but his ascension and reign provide a paradigm example of the Survival of the Least Fit. Let's hope that the Congress understands the moment when Push has come to Shove. Trump surely is way past Shovel-Ready.
2
Not holding my breath. It continues to amaze me the cult-like spell 45 has over the GOP. They created this monster who has sullied their reputations....history will not be kind - to any of them for failing to put country over party.
9
All worn out: the use of saying it’s a “witch hunt” or nothing but “fake news” seems to have hit the fatigue factor; used one too many times, doesn’t work anymore. As C. Blow says, “Time to pay up”
4
I wonder whose pocket Lindsey Graham is in? Surely, he must fear something ...otherwise, why become such an obvious and ridiculous sycophant for Trump.
Someone may have the dirt on Lindsey...and we're all being held hostage as a result.
Makes you wonder about souless McConnell too. Wonder about all his money and allegiances.
10
It's a funny thing about Lindsey Graham. Remember, he was Robin to John McCain's Batman. Now, with Batman sadly off-stage, Graham is an irascible little troll with the backbone of a starfish.
Perhaps this sad kittle cipher cannot function as a full human being without a bigger brother's trouser cuff to hang onto. It's hard to know what drives Lindsey Graham. Whatever it is, it's not a healthily functioning manhood.
The same could be said for Lindsey's new owner.
11
Let's be fair.
If Trump should be impeached for his abuse of power, you should also be fired for being a hate speech journalist. Agreed?
4
I would love to see Trump impeached and removed from office. However, we’re Pence to replace him he would no doubt pardon him for all past transgressions. This would leave Trump with his ill-gotten millions more or less intact. Trump has been a bully and blowhard all his life. He deserves the consequences for those behaviors as well.
6
Sorry Charles; the totality of the Republican Party system is corrupt.
6
The opportunity for republican redemption left the station the day after Trump was sworn in. When Spanky Spicer used crowd size to introduce the new Trumpland reality, republicans should have countered with their own “wait a minute” moment, but they didn’t. Now, they’ve all bought their tickets on the Titanic and there aren’t enough life boats for all of them...waaaaaaaa!
4
A sly pair of choice descriptive words, Mr. Blow.
3
Rs will refine "language of penance and conciliation'. But if they upheld our democracy, not distorting it, this would be a break with party tradition --- to work for power and money, suppress votes, gerrymander, block lawmaking.
It's their credo to insult any laws for the public good that should be normal in any democracy, as 'big govt interfering in our American Freedoms.'
It's one of the biggest cons in the history of democracies---that to keep our American 'freedoms' everything must be a big profit center. That's exactly why the US alone lacks HC for All in 21st C. What kind of leader and voter base does this attract?
Charles, don't keep leaving out that our high court distorted our own Constitution against us, by equating mega donor corporate money in elections as ‘free speech’ per 1st Amendment. This just amplified the influence of the wealthy, and muffled the citizenry---a contradiction to America the GOP won't admit.
We need more than impeachment, as radical as that may be. We need a Restoration of America. Start by reversing Citizens United. Use public funds set aside for both parties. This will attract a better class of candidate and lessen polarization.
Else, we'll just keep getting an exploitive GOP making the Dems compete for money to run. We the People, needing Representation for our Taxation, lose again. What time is the next demogogue?
Media columnists ignore this, thus contributing to the very political corruption they condemn.
6
Mr Blow,
You should write a proforma chapter for high school history texts books that look back at this event from 2050 and name the key players in the Senate and what they did, and how they voted (2 versions, one with an acquittal and one with conviction -- which would actually end as a resignation by the president). I think being able to look at an excerpt from that future history text could be very valuable for certain senators.
4
If they continue to believe that Trump is their best weapon to continue to take away all women's rights, including reproductive freedoms, then they will stick by Trump.
Misogyny is the thread that continues to run through all aspects of this administration, the past election and the nomination of the recent Supreme Court justices.
13
"Politicians are like diapers" Mark Twain
Trump supporters are mainly white older men with lower levels of education. They believe in Trump's ideas. And that his claims of victimhood and betrayal are real. Despite the failures, fragmentation and abuses, they intend to sustain the Trump position. Trump and his people have demonstrated that they are willing to do anything to increase his social and political power. It is becoming increasingly clear now (maybe not to his supporters) that the hoped for Trump Death Star of politics will not get built. He is, in fact, already in the Bunker.
The Authoritarian trap is always to have you worry about the future. Create nonexistent problems (that only Trump has the solution for) "Terrible terrible problems." Mad ideas from the kingdom of specialness...only an autocrat or harsh dictator can save us . The idea that Trump , the original ontological spoilt brat, is our savior - nothing could be sillier than these delusions of separateness . This administration demands that we not endure another year. Flush.
10
Read the transcript. Nothing in the discussion rises to the level of an impeachable offense. The Ukraine PM is the one who dragged Giuliani into the discussion. No quid pro quo was offered by Trump. He asked Ukraine for investigative help consistent with the 1998 treaty.
The Biden’s are who America and this Congress should be investigating. It’s telling that the Biden campaign is trying to stop Giuliani from appearing on TV. If Biden is so squeaky clean, what’s he worried about?
3
I am curious as to why almost none of the departing hordes of Republicans from Congress (by retirement or indictment) are speaking out against Trump. What are they afraid of?
5
For me, the key line in the opinion was :"The man developed a kind of Superman syndrome, in which the more crises he survived, the more he came to believe that he was invincible." If he survives impeachment and is not removed from office, this lesson will be reinforced again. He will feel he can do anything without consequences.
5
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for the perfect phrase "transactional ethics". The perfect description of a party that no longer stands for anything other than its own power and survival.
7
@Kathy D Blow did not coin that phrase. It's been around.
Nixon's approval rating at the end was still around 25%.
5
GOP: another word for lemmings, and we know what they do.
10
I am convinced that not more that a very few, if any, republicans will go against Trump. In fact they are the equivalent of the European fascists in that they are racists, bigots and craving for money and power. They must sink with the ship in order to save this country from a dictatorship. In the end just look at the history of Italy and Germany and how Hitler and Mussolini took power eliminating the counterbalances of their democracies and you will see similitudes with the trump administration and the republicans. Church, Flag and ignorance were and are the three elements that every dictatorship has used to gain and maintain power.
10
I agree with everything that you stated. I don't really see a profile in courage from the GOP. They have made their pact with the devil. This is just one more thing that they don't really give a damn about. For them this is the price of having power. And they are fully committed to paying that price.
6
I do not believe we have seen the full depth of GOP depravity yet. Do not expect the GOP to act in a decent and honorable manner as long as their reelection chances are dependent on the angry irrational delusional mob they call constituients. They will never do the right thing, it is beyond their capabilities.
8
Like so many others, I cannot understand why a large number of my fellow countrymen can support Trump. It totally mystifies me. His corrupt nature is continually on full display.
It is clear that their support stems from their justifiable resentment of the Washington swamp......a government solely run for corporate interests and the rich.
However, Trump is the poster child what is wrong. He is corrupt to the core. A man totally without principles and least likely to serve their interests.
How can they not see this.......
8
Most Americans believe that they can do whatever they wish because the constitution gives them permission....no matter if what they do is moral or immoral, decent or indecent, or right or wrong. With this kind of total freedom the future will have no need of prisons, law enforcement agencies, nor law books. Why? Because if the law allows you to do what you want, then there is no wrong you can do.
Blessed are those who do not see yet believe. To those who believe in His name: who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
"It must have been an awesome feeling, to float above the rules made for the commoners, to be unbound by trust, virtue, morality and responsibility. But that positioning in the world was unsustainable. Eventually, the bill comes due, and it must be paid."
It has not come due for Vladimir Putin or Mohammed bin Salman, Mr. Trump's role-models.
@WP
Who are those to whom he owes the most $.
1
Mr. Blow, I have the utmost respect for your intellect, heart, and talent. And I agree with virtually all of your stances on politics and humanity. But you're seeming more and more naive of late. No Republican cares about how he or she is seen by history. The ONLY way any Republican will shift will be for self-preservation and that alone. If Trump's downfall becomes truly imminent, then we might see Republicans run for cover. For a real and honest look at this situation, refer to Peter Weiner's piece today on the same page as this op-ed.
6
I spent several days watching Fox News and OAN. It is shocking and greatly disturbing to see the power of these networks on influencing their viewers. I agree all networks do this, but these two are so pernicious. If these 2 networks are all you see, you will come away with a totally different view of this recent, or for that matter, any Trump crisis. They are now going back to the Clinton hating playbook, which tells me how desperate they are. She hasn't been in office since 2013. I think all people who are concerned about the damage Trump is doing to this country need to watch these networks to learn what we are up against. They have no decency and will support Trump no matter what. Their Republican elected officials are probably watching the same networks and I see no hope of them changing any time soon. Are we all contacting our Republican elected officials and demanding they do the right thing or are we just venting amongst ourselves. Time to speak up.
11
I’ve been doing this too. I’m not sure how Fox isn’t breaking libel laws left and right.
1
Linda, you have it figured it out!!! Let’s all require our liberals to watch Fox and read the WSJ and our Trump lovers to watch CNN and read the Times. These are opposing viewpoints and, sad to say, probably neither is completely correct.
"I refuse to believe that the totality of the Republican Party system is corrupt beyond the possibility of contrition, that every single Republican senator would turn their backs on the country."
I wish, I wish, I wish.
To date the majority, but not all, appear to have painted their bubbles in Opaque-Trump and can no longer see outside it.
4
"The impeachment of Donald Trump offers an opportunity for redemption for Republicans." How many will grasp the brass ring? A handful in the House and maybe two in the Senate, if given a vote.
That is the best that today's GOO will muster, but my bet is that such a lofty pinnacle of fortitude will not even be reached.
3
The entire Republican Party is a giant rotten house of cards. If one of the senior leaders pulled out of the pile it would collapse into a pile of recriminations against each other and the one who pulled might be seen as the "savior" of the party by those who have kept silent. C'mon Senator Romney, save your party.
9
Senator Romney? Savior? Really? You're not from Massachusetts, are you?
1
"I refuse to believe that the totality of the Republican Party system is corrupt beyond the possibility of contrition, that every single Republican senator would turn their backs on the country."
I have seen little to suggest otherwise. In my own district, Tom Rice seems to disown any responsibility to represent Democrats and Independents. ("You sound like a Democrat, but I'll answer anyway, " he said on a telephone town hall some months ago.) He even voted against the anti-drilling bill that virtually the entire district wanted passed.
Mr. Blow, I hope you are right, but given the past several years and the fact that John McCain is dead, I despair for the Republican Party. Their misdeeds, not only in the recent past but also over the last few decades, suggest that they have moved increasingly and inexorably toward calumny.
13
I am just curious, does anyone on either side, Democrat or Republican, listen to themselves. This is not about choosing sides and having the best team win.
If the MSM, The Fourth Estate, the protectors of the electorate, once again on either side, was willing to present a fair, unbiased presentation, perhaps, we the citizens could make our own decisions. Unfortunately, neither the MSM on the left or the right are willing to let that happen.
Why you ask? MONEY & PROFITS. Selling newspapers.
4
Very well said. Why can’t more people hold your opinion.
Impeachment
Impeachment
Johnson 1868
Clinton 1998
Nixon resigned so he doesn't go on the short list. I think that Trump belongs on the short list for the many reasons as this article and the commenters show. I felt this way since day one of this administration, it was only a matter of time. For a man who found himself as president, and has done the office bad, for the country and for himself, it's time for him to go...
5
If a genie granted me three wishes, they'd be 1) The House prepares Articles of Impeachment and forwards the documents to the Senate; 2) The Senate holds a trial and Individual #1 is convicted and removed from office and 3) The WH Gang of Four (Rudy, Pence, Pompeo and Barr) are removed and disbarred, for they are not Officers of the Court any more than they are jockeys. Oh, and I'd ask the genie for one more, just because it's the right thing to do. Remove and disbarr Brett.
10
Mr. Blow, you raise some really interesting points. But nothing stuns me more (naive that I am) than your honest and practical assessments of power's guilty pleasure and powerful seduction.
I don't crave power, except over my person, and even that is a struggle: diet, focus, creative thinking. I am not weak, I am not a pushover. But I am a mediator in my life, work, and family. Most of the people I know are mediators, too, because they LOVE something or someone.
It's so hard for me to understand how tenaciously ego and power hang on to the helm of our precious government. Don't these people love anything??
3
The answer to your question is zero.
1
Threatening the whistle blower with execution.
Add another felony to Trump's long list of crimes.
14
I wish I shared the optimism of some; certainly I want to. I gave up long ago thinking that his supporters in and out of Congress had something resembling ethics, a conscience, courage, or a moral spine. It has been one of the largest and most long-lasting shocks to this system that the last 3 years have provided, a shock that keeps unsettling the ground on which we stand, like the fracking that Republicans wish to preserve and protect while the earth shudders and groans and shifts beneath our feet. Impeachment has been a moral imperative for some time; it's now a political one. It will be interesting (and probably all the more horrifying) to watch as events unfold and as Trump and his supporters hunker in their real and metaphorical bunkers, lobbing grenades. As his role model Roy Cohn advocated for the Rosenbergs, Trump is already following suit (Adam Schiff should be arrested and tried as a spy -- you know: how it happened when America was a "smart" country), with execution the unspoken but implied end game. If we thought we should be strapped into our seat belts before this, we haven't seen anything yet, and I hold very little hope that elected Republicans will lift a finger to mitigate the ride till it becomes unavoidable not to do so -- and even then, the hypocrisy, kowtowing, and cowardice that has so shocked our sensibilities for lo, these many many months, may still prevail.
3
Why are the Republicans so afraid of Mr. Trump? They are acting out of fear rather than defending our country against Mr. Trump and his illegal actions.
2
I don’t think Mitch is going down with the ship. He’s already wearing his water wings.
1
Great article, lacking in the patronizing condescension that I sense from the Republican pundit-written articles instructing Democrats on "how to beat Trump" (which usually consists of bowing to Republican demands). The only downside is that I continue to get billed for the Times, but I suppose that's the nature of being a subscriber. Thanks for another great editorial.
2
Yes, impeach. Though I wish that the Dems had begun proceedings earlier and on many of the other impeachable offenses that Trump has committed: inciting violence between the races; separating children from parents at the border and caging them without proper care; the courting of dictators and publicly preferring their versions of "truth" to that of sworn government officials (treasonous?); using campaign funding for hush money payments to mistresses; violating the emoluments clause by privately profiting from his position as president; raining deadly weapons on civilian populations -- and with whom we are not at war, etc. etc. And, I guess, LYING is not impeachable in itself. But the sheer volume of lies and scandalous public statements made by this president should have been suggesting unfitness for public office. The blatancy of his unhinged and dangerous nature alone should have been cause for more than embarrassment or horror.
5
I don't know....Trump supporters already supported him. This tells us who they were. Why should they change now?
4
Why do all the big scandals, the ones that relate to how the government is run rather than just personal failings, happen in Republican administrations? Watergate, Iran-Contra, torture, and now whatever this one is.
Why do Republicans think they're too special to follow the rules? They accuse liberals of moral relativism, but have they looked in a mirror ever?
10
Real change has to happen among the people who voted for the vile Trump and Graham. Trump is just a symptom of the real disease. People who are anti progress and antisocial. Those who still have not forgiven the 8 years of Obama success. Until the despair somehow hits home for MAGAs, nothing will change.
2
Yes, Mr. Blow, for reasons that are impossible to explain, Trump has "a stranglehold on the Republican Party." The House may resolve to impeach Trump. But he will most likely continue as president as long as there are Republican senators like Lindsey Graham, who are in "obsequious kowtowing" before him.
Once this infamous chapter in the country's history is written, we will have one consolation: We will know who among the kowtowers stooped further and decided to crawl. Some of them are outside the senate, outside even the government. The foremost among the latter is Rudy Giuliani.
Apart from outsmarting Trump as a liar, he has also proved to be one who would do just anything for money. Other than money, what is there in the mission he undertook to do the dirty work for Trump regarding Ukraine? We'll soon find out whether he is going to continue his lying spree when he testifies before the House committees, which will surely happen. That will the end of his bombast as an attorney.
Another obsequious kowtower I want to draw Mr. Blow's attention to is attorney general Bill Barr. His performance as an enabler of Trump's crime has once again confirmed that he is taking salary from taxpayers to work as Trump's lackey, not as the country's lawyer.
We can be sure that more and more lackeys of Trump will be exposed as the impeachment inquiry that is underway in the House goes on.
3
Unlike the little Dutch boy who put his finger in the dike to stop the leak and prevent the flood, Trump with the words of a paranoid madman has tweeted accusations of treason, and assertions of civil war that have cracked the republican party wall of unity and given momentum to an increasing flood of republican criticism of Trump - hopefully soon to be a Tsunami.
3
Redemption? This surprises me coming from Charles Blow who has been among the few clairvoyant pundits to have seen and called out the farce of the Trump presidency with total consistency from Day One. There will not be an honest redemption for any of these clowns, no matter what they may now say. And I’m not sure that dangling the prospect of forgiveness to all those who facilitated this tragedy is all that productive.
I suspect that Republicans as a whole would love nothing more than to see Trump and his legacy simply evaporate. But their lifeline to relevance is tied not to any particular policy idea but rather to firing up a population of desperate fools into thinking that every problem they face is the fault of Democrats.
The offer to let bygones be bygones is to grant them a pass on fostering a cancer in our discourse and give them permission to continue doing it. That’s not worth it. If the Trump reckoning is not a reckoning for the GOP and a fundamental realignment of American politics we may regret it.
2
Trump isn't the only fraudster that needs to be tossed out. He has a network of complicit enablers, without which he would not be so dangerous to our nation. Pompeo, Barr, McConnell, Pence, et al. They are all complicit in the attempted overthrow of our democracy for an autocracy (as long as it's THEIR autocracy). They all belong in orange jumpsuits, spouting their perversion to the four walls of an isolation cell.
8
"Now, the decision falls to the Republicans in Congress, in the House but particularly in the Senate: On which side of patriotism will history record them? Will they stand for the Constitution and the rule of law or will they stand for partisanship and political expediency?"
How many, if any, will cross back over the River Goppioni (=GOP Partisan Interest Over National Interest) that has seen so many do so in so many ways.
3
@Ed This, of course, begs the question about the possibility of re-crossing the Rubicon River or River Styx. It is very difficult, but not necessarily impossible.
Republican senators might want to read Jeff Flake's piece on saving their souls
3
There is a game of "chicken" going on here. Republicans are barreling on towards impeachment and are playing a game whereby they try not to be the first one to bail from the party line of supporting a clearly unfit Trump. There appears to be an idea among Republicans that there is a good chance that Trump may prevail (at least in the public eye), and that they would suffer the consequences of not supporting him. Once it becomes clear that the consequences would not endanger their own personal positions, I believe Republican politicians will flood to condemn his behavior. The question then becomes, how to convince the Republican politicians that the consequences of speaking truth to power are less dire than the consequences of "carrying water" for a clearly corrupt individual.
I suspect the key there involves the electorate, and either seeing that the attitudes of Republican voters are shifting (which would appear to hinge on right-wing media) or that their possibilities of re-election are being degraded by encroachment by non-Republican candidates (which is made less likely by existing gerrymandered districts).
Or, of course, Republican politicians could grow a spine and do what is right. I'm sad to say that I'm not holding my breath for that one, though.
8
The biggest error would be to draft articles of impeachment BEFORE all leads about all of Trump's questionable actions have been explored and documented in didactic detail so all can fully comprehend the depth and breadth of crimes Trump is being accused of.
Hopefully, Rep Pelosi and Rep Schiff, will be able to keep the Democrats focused on completing the process and not rushing to trial.
3
The question that mystifies me is, what do Republicans think President Trump does for them that they think a President Pence will not or could not?
2
'It's not even clear that Mitch McConnell would hold a trial if the House votes to impeach."
Would McConnell even have power to prevent a trial? If there is a trial of the president, the Constitution provides that it will be presided over by the Chief Justice of the United States, who is now John Roberts.
5
@Paul deLespinasse
"The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present."
"Shall have the sole power to try" - McConnell will argue that he isn't required to actually try, but if there is a trial that it must be held in the Senate. Just as he said that "by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate" doesn't require the Senate hold hearings to advise and consent.
Feels like a smoldering edifice about to collapse. Even if new treasonous scandals do not emerge during the impeachment inquiry (unlikely), and moderate GOP senators cannot find inner courage to vote for Trump’s ouster, he looks to be mortally wounded politically and should lose the 2020 election. I think Biden is also sufficiently tarnished to lose in the Democratic primaries. Out of these ashes could emerge Elizabeth Warren, our first woman President. Now that’s righteous justice.
9
I realize this comment has nothing to do with Blow's Op-Ed. But. I am reading Reefer Madness: Drugs, Sex and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market." I know it is close to 20 years old and thing change. Concerning the DRUGS CHAPTER, Schlosser writes that marijuana is probably the largest cash crop in America and the vast majority of the production is centered in the Mid-West centered in Indiana, Western Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, eastern Missouri, parts of Wisconsin and southern Michigan. All states that voted for Trump. I wonder if prompted by the disaster of the Trump's agricultural tariffs, more farmers may be thinking about it to save their family farms? Oh, the tangled weave the REPUBLICAN Party has woven.
2
Republicans can redeem themselves - those who haven’t been tried and jailed for treason - by peaceably retreating to whatever small, distant, unpopulated island in the Pacific we decide to put them on.
They deserve no better.
They can be our Taiwan, our Hong Kong, where we keep them at arms’ length distance and away from our country.
What they do to themselves there will be none of our business, unless it is a threat to us or their nearest neighbor. In which case, the next steps will need to be taken.
6
1. The lease on the Trump DC hotel specifically says no "elected official of the Government of the United States ... shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom." Oh, well, says the GSA.
2. The Hatch Act prevents federal employees, including the attorney general, from engaging in political activities. But what are "laws" to Attorney General Barr?
3. The Constitution specifically forbids the receipt of income from foreign princes and leaders to the president. But who cares if a Saudi Prince or the governments of any nation enrich Donald J. Trump in direct violation of the "Emoluments Clause?"
4. It is a felony to hire a foreign country to work on a president's political campaign, especially using the incentive of American tax dollars. But who really cares if Donald J. Trump does it?
5. We call ourselves "a nation of laws, not men." But that is just a silly slogan. We're no better than Russia!
19
If you want to ask republicans to punish Trump, you have to ask democrats to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, first. Hunter was a lobbyist working for a corrupted Ukrainian company while his father was the VP of the US government. This fact itself is very problematic. It’s called conflict of interest. In addition to that, Joe pressured the Ukrainian government to fire the prosecutor who was investigating the company his son was working for! It’s outrageous. We should know what really happened behind the curtain, right?
By the way, what Trump did is exactly what I told you to ask democrats to do and there is nothing wrong with it. So, you don’t have any reason to ask republicans to punish him. Very logical, isn’t it?
4
Even though I disagreed with him on almost all policy issues, I used to hold some grudging respect for Lindsey Graham because I admired what appeared to be his consistent approach to foreign policy, as well as his friendship with John McCain. He now kneels at the alter of Donald Trump, defending each and every flagrant lapse of principle and disregard for the Constitution. We all witnessed in real time the transition from acerbic critic at the onset of Trump’s term, to servile lackey. He, more than any other Republican, will be remembered as a profile in cowardice.
7
There is something very wrong with the American right. Above all they have a chip on their shoulder and they want to stick it to thinking Americans.
9
Why would anyone who realizes how corruptible the republican party is, like Mr. Blow, be desperate to "redeem" it? Isn't it time for a new party that is not weighed down by its past?
4
How many will seize the chance of redemption? None. When the Republican Party not only condoned, but gleefully participated in the destroying of Robert Mueller’s reputation, it became apparent that they are every bit as soulless and corrupt as Trump.
10
So what are you going to do about the fact that the US has a treaty with Ukraine (ratified in 2000 at the behest of then President Bill Clinton) that allows for the very type of investigation that Trump initiated with the Ukrainian president?
Oops!
2
Could I ask Senator Graham to change his name? How about Senator Spineless Sycophant. He is bringing shame on the entire Graham clan!
3
Re: "...Impeach the Malignant Fraudster
This is how Republicans can redeem themselves..."
I've never supported / voted for Republicans...
As i am in my 44th year of voting...Republicans had better consider the fact that Trump IS done / he'll take whatever's, left of the party, down with him!
4
A law should be passed NOW that requires the presidential and vice presidential candidates for any political party to submit their tax returns and other financials to an equally bi-partisan congressional committee that must vote unanimously that the candidates meet muster and are not known to be tied to foreign money or powers.
That might keep this from happening again.
18
@Panthiest And, birth certificate. Being "natural born" is a constitutional requirement. Earning enough to pay taxes, is not.
Other commenters have probably mentioned this, but thank you NY Times editor or Mr. Blow for the acronym hidden in the headline of your op-ed!
Yes!
Impeach the Malignant Fraudster!
4
Alexander Harrison hopes earnestly that Mr. Sulzberger will hire more journalists from the WSJ for purposes of fairness and balance.Too much bluster coming from Mr. Blow who fulminates, ventilates his frustrations, but shortchanges us, his many readers when it comes to conducting original, creative research.Am sure CB is a good fellow, and when 1 made his acquaintance, 1 could not help liking him. However, I would rather read someone who broadens my horizons, than someone who specializes in denigrating our c-in-c, and does nothing but that. "Ce que je veux dire,"how many times can you call Trump a buffoon, a useful idiot, a racist, misogynist, xenophobe before readers say,"Ca suffit nettement; J'ai le ras bol!"i don't know his contract obligations, but Mr. Reilly's perspicacity and professionalism would prove definite assets for the gazette's readers.Seems Mr. Blow's animus against the president and his millions of supporters is the only arrow in his quiver. To tap on the same nail endlessly becomes tiresome, produces ennui.
5
Trump's shenanigans have sucked all the oxygen we citizens need to breathe and to keep alive a belief in government. His presidency is a contagious "malignancy" making us all sick.
7
So, Charles, didn’t the Obama Administration ask allies to dig up dirt on Trump? So, Charles, didn’t the Obama Administration abuse the FISA courts to spy on political opponents? I guess you weren’t outraged then.
4
@Jackson When you were a kid and you got in trouble and you told the adult who caught you (be it parent or teacher) "But Jimmy did it first," did that ever actually keep you out of trouble? Two wrongs don't make a right and "Obama did it" isn't a defense of any action.
7
this is a tired defense that is very typical. it avoids the subject and deflects by creating a strawman argument.
5
this is a tired defense that is very typical. it avoids the subject and deflects by creating a strawman argument.
2
I think, for perhaps the first time in my life, I agree with Mr. Blow.
There's a fraud all right. Lots. First it was that he abused his former girlfriend, which she herself unmasked. Then years of the Russia fraud, which the Mueller report unmasked. Then, when that failed, the short-lived obstruction hoax. During that time, there was the Kavanaugh debacle, the worst thing in politics since the end of Jim Crow - the attempt to destroy a man and his family's life by accusing him of multiple rapes and assaults, all of which was at the end, proved untrue (or, in Ford's case - extremely unlikely) unless you only read and watch anti-Trump media. Somewhere in all that yet another woman claiming DT raped her, only to be suddenly dropped by the media when she appeared completely unhinged. Big surprise. Now attempted impeachment over what would, if at worst, unnoticed with any other president. Certainly we know Obama could be caught making promises of easy treatment to Putin and make cash deliveries to our worst enemy, and the media didn't even stir.
I always saw DT as an egotistical, ignorant blowhard, and didn't vote for him, but no doubt to me; he is far better than the anti-border, anti-free speech, anti-electoral college, anti-white male opposition who seem to be fine with antifa (i.e., fascists, as long as they think they are on their side), who disrupt gov't when they don't get their way, and who have made impeachment just another political tool. I thought the Rs were bad during the Clinton terms. They were nothing.
1
Could someone explain to me what the purpose of these highly partisan opinion pieces are? They’re not very informative because the reader knows it’s going to be anti-Trump. Is it to continually bolster the anti-trump derangement? Keep it at a fever pitch? Provide Mr. Blow’s bona fides to the Liberal reader? I really would enjoy a much more balanced piece so that I could make some of my own opinions but for some reason the NYT readers enjoy this piling on can someone explain this to me?
5
@Paul It's pure enjoyment for this reader, and many others I'm sure.
1
GOP: Profiles in Cowardice
3
Let the impeachment begin and let the chips fall where they may. At the end of the day, Democrats are still not fit to govern based on the fact they spend their time advocating for the repeal of our American rights. Republicans do protect our rights, particularly the 2nd, and will retain the Presidency and will win again in 2020 with or without Trump.
34
How do you interrupt the imperative to stop mass murders with assault weapons and strict background checks with trying to not protect the ill begotten right to bear arms in this country with more guns then people? You might entertain the idea the right to bear arms for a militia to save the nation at the time written in history , not a right to large magazines and weapons of mass destruction. I doubt anyone thinks a weapon to hunt or protect oneself in their home is not a right at this time in our history.
95
@Steven Thompson
Even the most radical proposal for reasonable gun safety laws do not take away or repeal your rights under the 2nd Amendment.
126
@Carol The difficulty is that only 2% of gun killings are committed with assault weapons. And a large minority of gun deaths are suicides.
I support a ban on assault weapons on the grounds that I do not see what use they are to individuals. But much of Democratic talk seems to be unrealistic and does not take account of facts.
4
It is very unfortunate that the impeachment has become practically unavoidable. Quite simply - it won't add any extra point for those who are, deservedly, against Trump nor the number of them. But it will definitely increase the number of those who, responding to the Republican demagogy (already obvious!), become put off by the whole anti-Trump business.
4
I don't disagree with a word of this in principal. But in reality, what happens when they don't impeach? Or impeach but he isn't convicted. And god forbid, if he is re-elected. The only lesson to be learned is if you have strict party loyalty anyone is above the law.
The alternative, of course, of not even trying to impeach is giving the impression that the President is above the law. We are in a lose-lose situation. Partisanship will increase, cooperation will decrease and America will function even more poorly than it does now. I truly believe we are witnessing the beginning of the end of America.
1
In his book stunning Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates quotes Solzhenitsyn: "To do evil human beings must first of all believe that what he's doing is good, or else that it's the well-considered act in conformity with natural law."
These white men believe the power is theirs to with as they please. Good heavens why not? -It has for ever been thus!
1
Republicans stick by the President because they know he is innocent. They haven't fallen victim to the false consciousness spewed by the left wing media.
4
Faith in Trump by a large chunk of the general public is misplaced, long past it’s expiration date and also the reason so many elected representatives are still sticking with Trump.
Faith is misplaced because Trump promised he alone would give the sky to those who would support him with their votes. Yet all he’s done is whine about whine he can’t get much done.
A justice Department investigation by Mueller stymied him. One senator blocked his plans for healthcare. Four Muslim women in Congress are the problem. it’s the totality of House Democrats who are holding up his plans. A clutch of people who worked for Trump in the White House weren’t very smart. The fake news media won’t let him succeed. Ukraine is hiding computer equipment. And so on.
Trump claimed he alone would do everything. It turns out Trump alone and can do very little. Yet millions of his followers still believe in their would-be champion.
3
"But, the exercise itself will reveal the true character of the people in Washington..."
This knee-jerk line negates (for me) the great value of this otherwise excellent piece.
Please stop the now 40-year-old "war on Washington" which is and always has been a "war-on-democracy."
Donald Trump does not represent "Washington" any more than does Lindsey Graham or Mitch McConnell or Kevin Nunes or Kevin McCarthy. Along with their Republican colleagues, these democratically-elected members represent the values and the "character" of a majority of their constituents from all over the United States.
Bill Moyers likes to say, "if you think elected representatives are dangerous, you should talk with their constituents."
Very few of those constituents live in Washington, DC.
1
Please stop using the term "Republican" as it refers to a political party and philosophy that no longer has adherents.
I suggest to use Trump Party to refer to the holdouts, as they have no other guiding principle.
5
It is astonishing how many Republican Congressional members by their own admission have not read the Muellar report and have no idea if their staff read it. The whistle blowers complaint and Trump's phone call is not taxing. It is concise and chilling in content. The wild card in Trumps' poker game was Muellars' testimony, his reticence was a disservice to the American people and a functional Democracy. That Royal Flush led to the brazen Trump call on July 25th that included the remainder of Trump's trio. Guiluani is the mouth piece for public obstruction and deception. Barr by his position as AG has given legal legitimacy to obstruction and deception. The Republicans in Congress have mislead their constituents by violating their oaths of office in their misplaced loyalty to a cult, all who would willingly cheat in a poker game.
3
Those on the GOP side of this debacle continue to cry "partisanship" when it comes to Congress trying to inject oversight of this president. But it is the GOP pot calling the Democrat kettle black. The partisan response is completely on the GOP side of this discussion. To NOT support the impeachment process for this president's current and past transgressions is nothing but partisan brinksmanship. They are defending him BECAUSE of their partisan stands. Screaming that this is a partisan witch hunt on the part of the Democrats is the height of hypocricy. If the actions of this president were tied to any other party in the world, the GOP would have whipped up articles of impeachment months ago. They are digging in their heels to defend this man based soley on their partisan agenda to stay in power -- at any cost to the American people and our constitution. Someone needs to call them out on it -- NOW!
1
"But, the brazen betrayal of his office, the Constitution and the American people is undeniable."
Regrettably, it's not. The talking points range from corruption to European parity, and back to corruption and then to "so what?"
Republicans deny everything. In fact, they haven't made a positive statement in three years.
"But, I refuse to believe that the totality of the Republican Party system is corrupt beyond the possibility of contrition, that every single Republican senator would turn their backs on the country."
Believe it, Mr. Blow! The entire Republican Party is entirely corrupt and will not do the right thing, ever. There are never any consequences for their actions, so why bother?
1
Transactional ethics. Thank you, Charles Blow. The term is so apt and and it is now part of my lexicon. Of course it implies no ethics at all, but what fun I will have using it when I argue the point with all the trumpsters surrounding me.
3
Some of the comments speak to the issue of Trump supporters threatening civil war if Trump is impeached or doesn't win re-election. I agree that nobody should under-estimate the white supremacist hatred that Trump has successfully (and erratically) weaponized. That there are so many conservative militias in the US fuels unease. But I'm not sure all Trump supporters are white supremacists ready to risk their life in a civil war for him. For one, some of the most vocal are seniors like my dad who talk a lot more than they walk. I'm also not sure everyone who goes to rallies or wears a MAGA hat is committed enough to pick up their pitchfork and join a mob. Some may be enjoying the show, the attention, and chance to express resentment. Also, some lines can't be crossed with impunity these days. Those acting violent or uncivil can get outed, lose their job, place in society, go to jail, get sued, etc. Trump's threats against individuals that make his life difficult are terrifying, coming from a sitting president. But, besides being evidence of obstruction, it is also endless bluster intended to intimidate. One can only yell loudly (or tweet in all caps) for so long before it loses power and starts to sound desperate. To me, Trump is starting to appear like a balloon after all the air has been let out... flaccid.
1
As always, thank you, Mr. Blow.
Your conviction and clarity about our malignant president’s behavior has never wavered, and week after week you’ve expressed it perfectly. You speak for so many. #impeach
6
The whole lot in DC are either already corrupt or in the process of being so - the whole system is steeped in corruption, greed, self-agrandisement and wanton thuggery.
Being a criminal is the sine qua non for being Potus.
The impeachment drive is framed as a defense of “national security” but, that defense is merely to protect the status quo: a government rife with corruption controlled by the security surveillance state promoting an imperialist agenda of never ending wars.
Where was Congress and Pelosi when Obama, now Trump, sponsored Saudi Arabia’s war crimes in Yemen? Both presidents provided military assistance to that genocide and both failed to secure the constitutionally mandated approval from Congress.
Where was Nancy and the Democrats when George W. Bush, then Obama, now Trump, abused the already questionable post-9/11 authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs) to expand U.S. wars across the greater Middle East that have devastated the region?
Those like Pelosi know full well what crimes the previous presidential administrations have committed abroad and at home and they do not care because it is all grist to their and their cronies war-profiteering, corporate-capitalist-imperialist mill.
People that support this ridiculous, CIA-instigated impeachment inquiry want to ignore the systemic rot that made Trump’s election, and the heinous actions of recent presidents, possible in the first place.
Utterly ridiculous.
6
Republican Jim Jordan, from Ohio's 4th District, is the textbook example of a Trump defender "no matter what the evidence says". It was bizarre to watch him try and
( manically?) persuade Jake Tapper on CNN Sunday. His abjectly false narrative on Biden and Biden's son repeated over and over again in the face of the facts that Tapper was providing. Jordan's responses showed a hard bitten strategy that Republicans will rely on to support Trump. No matter what the facts are, this, will say is what really is going on, seems to be their m.o. for this sloppily conceived PR campaign. I think, this time, they have underestimated the tolerance of the electorate.
2
Impeach the Malignant Fraudster would have been a brave, honorable and much needed rallying cry in 2006 or so. Not particularly brave or useful at this point.
It really shouldn't take a lot of explaining to describe why Republican in Congress can't put up with this behavior. Their constituents -- who mostly see themselves as upholding strong family values -- could get behind impeachment if it was put in terms like:
"If your kids try to get away with doing something seriously wrong by pointing out the misdeeds of others, you're smart enough not to let them off the hook. That's the choice we have here. What the President did was not only wrong, but illegal. We can't let that go unpunished, no matter how bad the things people on the other side have done might be. It will be much easier to act on his plans for improving the economy, getting jobs back and making America great again if we have a president -- like Mike Pence -- whose behavior won't become the issue."
To be clear -- I don't agree with any of that. But there are ways they could sell supporting impeachment to their more "reasonable" constituents.
If they won't do that, if they don't see impeachment as an opportunity to wrest their party from the hands of this senile, narcissistic, moronic grifter -- well, THEY deserve what they get. It's unfortunate that the rest of us get stuck with it, whether we want it or not.
1
Nicely stated.
Republicans, pay attention.
Nice fantasy, Mr. Blow. Given how many Republicans have left the House since the election of the Abomination, I doubt there will be many in the Senate prepared to be honorable or patriotic. They would be gone already.
A minor quibble: there WOULD have been a conviction in the Senate if Nixon had not resigned. That was clear, and the reason he did. But back then, many Republicans were still decent and patriotic, aside from those who embraced Nixon's "Southern strategy." What's left in the abortion that is the GOP today is a cabal of boot-lickers to a sociopathic megalomaniac.
But, after great reluctance, I think the House needs to impeach. The world needs to know that America has not gone completely off the rails. Even if we have to a large extent thanks to our skewed Electoral College system.
We can only truly change that by ejecting the Abomination in 2020 and removing as many GOP candidates from public office at all levels as possible. The stacking of the courts with right wing ideologues will make that much more difficult. But if we do the work at ground level though, and we on the left get off our behinds and vote (because the plutocrats will spend tens of millions to be sure the deplorables turn out), it is far from impossible.
1
Trump is merely the symptom of what has become a corrupted politics in America. It is the establishment politics which are on trial in 2019. Declaring Trump the problem serves mainly as a distraction, meant to divert attention from the real political issues these revolutionary times are addressing, which is the world wide transformation of political structure itself.
1
Trump was right when he said the Mueller investigation was an expensive waste of money. He could have said he was going to do it for free.
1
The Vietnam War draft dodger and the Republican Party have arrived at the crossroads of history. GOP senators are compelled with addressing the hard cold facts that their chief executive's constantly trampling upon the Constitution, deliberately ignoring Congressional subpoenas, and openly maligning Democratic House chairmen prosecuting the impeachment inquiry to undermine and sabotage the exercise of their constitutional mandate does not bode well for the party of Lincoln. Cowering under the literal intimidating weight of the occupant of the West Wing, facing implied threats that will torpedo their political longevity, now is the time for Senate Republicans to act. Placing America before party is necessary. In August 1964 Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon and Senator Ernest Gruening of Alaska-Democrats-cast the only no votes against President Lyndon Baines Johnson's Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Both senators publicly condemned the president's sleight of hand machinations that conferred absolute executive authority to wage war in Vietnam without Congressional authority. Their prophetic and tragic forecasts about America's ill fated military intervention proved prescient. These senators exhibited political courage and spine to speak truth to power. They were both right, suffering politically for their outspokenness to warn the nation of what lay ahead. They were absolutely right,their prophecy proving true. The Republicans need to standup and show that courage. No more excuses. Now.
7
Adam Schiff is doing a great job and represents a real threat to Trump’s continuing hold on power. But I worry about his safety. Trump and his cronies will stop at nothing to try to preserve power. Let’s hope that Congressman Schiff has an excellent security detail.
8
The House is just beginning it's impeachment investigations. I suspect that documents that will come to light will further implicate Trump and his minions in the White House. The presidency is not Trump's private business. He doesn't get to control all the documentation and communication. Someone will speak out, then another....
7
The optimism here is downright astonishing.
5
"Impeach the Malignant Fraudster"
Yes, that's that the Republicans did to Bill Clinton.
5
@Amy
There is no comparison between the misdeeds of President Clinton and the criminal activities of Individual 1.
5
Really?
That's all it would take for the Repub Miscreant Party to redeem itself?
6
The whole political system is corrupt and unethical; these phony statesmen and women care less about the future of millions of struggling people than getting re-elected - that's their job; the worse of the worse (besides Trump) is Lindsey Graham; a sad power mad swamp rat.
6
It took a decades long propaganda war, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and Russia
to defeat Hillary Clinton. Trump walked in with nothing and cleaned out every Republican. Tells you something. Republicans long ago got on the “birtherism” train and all that implies for their decades long war on democracy in their pursuit of power and money. Trump did not arise de novo. He only corrupted the corrupted. It will take far more than impeachment and even conviction to remove “Trump.” If nothing else we now have a federal judiciary and Supreme Court that is Trump to the core. Oh, and nearly all white Evangelicals and white Catholics who truly believe Trump was anointed by God. And Fox News the PTL media empire that corrodes our nation.
10
Now we know that "No Collusion! No Obstruction! Total Exoneration!!" was the real "fake news" spun by now co-conspirator and erstwhile mob attorney for the The Don, Bill "Never See a Trump Crime" Barr, who is acting for a mob boss posing as President. They may have escaped the clutches of Robert Mueller, but their brazen arrogance of "let's do it again" did not sit well with some of the President's men who still have a glimmer of conscience and duty to the nation. The simple truth is now out in the open, and simple and swift justice demands the impeachment of Donald Trump and jail time for his consigliere, Rudy "The Mouth" Giuliani, Barr, Mike "Mini-Me" Pence, Mike "Strong Arm" Pompeo and all those lawyers who saw guilt, but decided to cover it up. The Republicans have no defense other than deflection back to 2016 to Obama and Hillary's emails and a thoroughly debunked Biden conspiracy theory. No one is buying their unmoored conspiracies when the evidence of Donald Trump extorting the President of Ukraine to provide "dirt" on Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, is so blatant, so clear, and so undeniable. The Republicans will soon have to face reality and either support impeachment or urge Trump to resign. The transcript of the conversation Trump released along with the whistle-blower's report is the handwriting on the wall.
7
Germans were so close, oh so close, at both Moscow and Stalingrad. One more final push at either and they could have won the war. But they just did not have enough men and ammunition. And they did not have history on their side either. This final impeachment push is the left’s own Stalingrad.
3
@no pretenses
I seem to recall that the Russians won that battle. I mean, you are insinuating that the Democrats in this battle are the Russians, eh?
1
A where is paul Ryan now?The trump enabler. Say something ex speaker choirboy Ryan.
6
@Mary m Could he be preparing to enter the 2020 race? He's certainly morally obtuse enough to run.
2
'The impeachment of Donald Trump offers an opportunity for redemption for Republicans. The only question is how many will seize it."
Mr. Blow, you speak of redemption. It seems to me that the MSM, you know, The Fourth Estate, really needs redemption.
Your skewed editorials, as well as your front page bias should be addressed. This constant and implicit bias presented by your paper and other media outlets like Fox News, only leads to a more polarized electorate.
Rather than present the news for your readers to disseminate, you as well as these other sources, tend to foster a divisiveness rarely seen in my generation.
Perhaps your paper and other MSM outlets should take a lead from NEWSY and present the facts and allow your readers and viewers to make their own determinations.
You should all be ashamed!
2
Mr.Blow continues to spin conspiracy theory and has yet to give us the mea culpa after the Mueller reported demolished his prior oft-promised conspiracy theories.
3
@Joe Yoh
The Mueller report hardly demolished them. It reinforced them. Did you read it?
9
@Joe Yoh
It's free in many places should you care to read it.
Just type 'Mueller report' into a search engine, there is also an audio version.
@ADN. Yes. It clearly showed no conspiracy. Did you read only the liberal media spin ?
2
Love Charles, always have. Singing to the choir., though. I wonder when/if he will get an invitation to Fox news, or enlighten anyone at a truck stop breakfast, There will be revenge at the ballot box for disloyalty to The Orange One in the solid red districts.
1
Just another day in the fantasy land of the hysterical imperial liberal left. Articles like this only solidify a second term for President Trump. Please keep your propaganda as front page news to promote president Trump for another in your face liberal conundrum. Looking forward to your coverage of president Trump's second term in office. Thank you.
4
Charles, you are obviously a very angry individual and part of the problem in our nation. Stop living in the bubble, there are those of us who actually want this country to function instead of what we have.
The next Democrat president will pay a price for all this hatred, Republicans will go for impeachment. This could become the new normal.
2
I like coming to the NYT every so often to read what is going on in the land of fantasy. This Ukraine fake hysteria is a nothing burger and will fade away in the sunset like all of the other nothing burgers. News to Charles Blow Heart. Trump will be overwhelmly re-elected in 2020. By the way, I am a registered independent voter. I don't care for democrats or the warmongering republicans. I just see how the legacy media has been trying to crucify Trump since day one because Hillary Clinton didn't win the presidency. Sorry Charlie.
3
Charles Blow you are so right on it is incredible!!!! You articulate everything perfectly. Keep it up Mr. Blow, I look forward to reading your opinion every day!!!!!!!
4
Finally, someone stating the gobsmackngly obvious truth. Forget the whistle blower! He or she could be a naked, stark ravingly mad Rastafarian for all it matters now. The incontrovertible vidence now available, that totally supersedes the whistle blower complaint, is that, in his own words, Trump is a criminal who betrayed your constitution, and, again by their own admission, many close to him sought to cover it up.
No quid pro quo? Oh please, that’s like a rapist claiming he shouldn’t be held accountable because he didn’t really enjoy it.
5
Lindsey Graham is the biggest part of letting this POTUS get away with everything .Lindsey Graham said this 300 times before elected "Most unqualified person to ever run for office ,thief,liar,kook,crazy,racist,bigot, if we elect him we all will be sorry"Goes on CNN & says " I have something to say If you are a Republican watching this do not vote for Donald Trump"Now he has no problem with anything Trump says or does.
5
Please mail a copy of JFK's Profiles in Courage to every Republican in the House and Senate.
4
Mr Blow, you can stop struggling with your effort to find the reason his supporters continue. Read any good book about Fascism. It is a very real thing.
5
Republicans! Seize this opportunity for redemption – – impeach!
2
Clear as a bell! Thank you Mr. Blow.
4
"And here’s the thing: You have a very good alternative. I don’t personally share Mike Pence’s worldview, but you do. He is a deeply conservative, anti-regulation, anti-tax, evangelical Christian. As a bonus, he has never paid hush money to a porn star or made big campaign donations to New York Democrats. Oh, and Pence has a lower disapproval rating than Trump."
His base does not want a fiscal Conservative. Pence is everything they do not want. Trump lied to his base, made up of low level workers along, who were looking for help for their economic despair. He promised them he would give them everything they needed in an economic sense. They knew Pence would be the last politician who would help them.
2
I would think that Republicans who still tow the party line, as well as the Trump believers would take pause at his response to the current threat to his presidency.
Have we ever had another servant of the people threaten Civil War when caught in unethical and illegal behavior? Have we ever heard such a person openly threaten harm to his accusers?
He is not behaving like a president....he is behaving like a thug.
4
“There are only two parties now—traitors and patriots. And I would like hereafter to be included among the latter.”
U.S. Grant, 1861.
2
Great column. Can Romney or Flake run as Independents please? The GOP is totally corrupt, sold out. It has become the Greedy Old Party.
2
Sadly, you are naive, Mr. Blow. This is not 1974. That was a different time, a different country, and it is long gone. The Republican Party is morally bankrupt, to the last man. We are witnessing the death throes of democracy.
2
You'll have to pardon me for chuckling when I read this one; when a radical left wing propagandist wags his finger at Republicans and insists that they join the Democrat's last ditch attempt to reverse the 2016 election, it is just too funny for words.
The extra-judicial route of impeachment is the only tool that remains for them, because all their other manufactured false narratives have failed. And this isn't going to work either.
As if that weren't enough bad news, now Hillary Clinton is making noises about running in 2020.
Talk about the kiss of death for the Democrats....
2
Oh, look: Condescension from the party of David Duke, the Daily Stormer, Robert Bowers and nearly every other political terrorist since Trump took office and began enabling and mainstreaming them.
Blow's description of Trump as a malignant fraudster is perfect. I never thought this country would ever have a president more corrupt and nefarious than Nixon. Listen to Trump speak. He has a binary view of the world: There are either winners or losers. He will commit the most egregious acts of treachery and corruption to win.
4
The GOP has been completely corrupt since Eisenhower. Nixon had watergate and comitted treason by undermining the '68 peace talks, Reagan and Bush had Iran/Contra and Bush the Lesser started an illegal war and implemented a torture regime. They denied the science on tobacco just like they're denying the science on global warming today and have a long history racist dog whistling.
Trump isn't an aberration, Trump IS the republican party..
2
The Republicans I've encountered over the last 40 years have been cold and brutal people-that is their dominating personality trait. They have been, to a man and woman, bullies. Mr. Blow is extremely optimistic if he thinks they will do anything to stop Trump. They love him. They are sociopaths.
2
When I read things like this, I have to remember that this is how you make your living.
Repeated articles mention that the Republicans can't decide on how to deal with Trump. I suspect this is because many Republicans think he should be impeached too. He doesn't represent any major American political movement. He's just a vicious, manipulative, greedy opportunist. Thanks to the Republicans whose consciences are bothering them now.
3
Does Lindsey Graham not remember this? (from 2016)
“I think Lindsey Graham is a disgrace, and I think you have one of the worst representatives of any representative in the United States, and I don’t think he should run,” Trump said about the South Carolina senator at a campaign event in front of the lawmaker's home-state crowd. “He’s one of the dumbest human beings I’ve ever seen.”
That's the guy that Graham now defends with his own honor. Sad. John McCain laments from above.
4
Why is trump so concerned about supposed corruption in Ukraine but not at all interested in corruption at the highest level in Israel? Why isn't he calling on the courts in Israel to investigate Benjamin Netanyahu?
3
@Chris More to the point--why is no one in the media asking that question?
Love that "Malignant Fraudster".
2
>>But, I refuse to believe that the totality of the Republican Party system is corrupt beyond the possibility of contrition, that every single Republican senator would turn their backs on the country. Call me naïve.
You are naive... name one decent republican who is doing something to stop Trump
1
I owe Nancy Pelosi a sincere apology. I doubted that she would move forward on the impeachment inquiry, but she has shown herself to be a fierce defender of the Constitution. Adam Schiff has found his place in our history as the clarion voice of reason and justice which I knew him to be.
However, the craven cowards slouching around the baggy hems at Trump’s feet, the GOP, who have enabled this Russian asset to destroy our country, will continue to slobber at his every whim.
I do believe that a majority of Americans want to cleanse our country of this rot. We will have justice, and the traitors will go down in infamy.
3
Hear, hear! Trump’s bill is LONG OVERDUE!
2
Sorry, Charles, I'm not at all hopeful that the same lot who actively stole Barack Obama's Supreme Court appointment will suddenly find their morals now.
3
Mr. Blow makes a good case. Clinton was impeached for lying about a ... you know. How does that compare to this? Moreover, consider how much we DON'T know. Imagine how much mischief Trump has made in secret. Secret for now.
Our next president is going to declassify many records, including Trump's conversations with Putin and MBS. Trump wants a four year delay on that process.
As the pressure mounts, Trump is becoming increasingly unhinged, flailing away on Twitter. Trump is desperate to maintain power because his reelection would expire the statutes of limitations on many of his crimes.
We are in for more malevolence. Trump is a sociopath and pathological liar. He cannot help himself. Hopefully, we will help ourselves to a replacement.
1
“But, I refuse to believe that the totality of the Republican Party system is corrupt beyond the possibility of contrition, that every single Republican senator would turn their backs on the country. Call me naïve.”
Sorry Mr. Blow, you are naive.
When you can’t win on policy, impeach.
2
Yes it is long past time for this clown to be removed from office he is unfit and deserves to go to prison
3
Surely Republicans are not listening to Mr. Blow. Well, unless you want a Democrat in the White House. Don't even think it.
Decent, law abiding, honest, democracy-loyal Americans should be aware of, concerned, possibly worried about the new threat from the Southern Baptist preacher in Texas, a Trump loyalist who threatened to bring on "civil war" if Trump is impeached. This religious phony, and others like him who lead mega-evangelical congregations that betray Christianity, will be yelling from their pulpits - literary and on social media. They will tell crazies sitting in their churches to go home, bring out their rifles and guns, load up, and hit the road looking to shoot and kill specific individuals ... persons like Congressman Adam Schiff, Speaker Pelosi, other Democrats in the House, and even Democratic party elected officials on the state and local levels. Trump, too, will hold more MAGA rallies and order his sick followers to begin a civil war.
Make no mistake, this is coming.
2
Concise and to the point as usual Mr. Blow. Republicans are too far gone to be redeemed. I can't picture any of them suddenly waking up to the discovery that their president is a "malignant fraudster." Cheer up though, because when Trump goes down (eventually) he'll be taking Lindsay Graham with him.
2
Mr. Blow makes a very good case for why Trump's time is up. Nixon lingered much longer but things move much more quickly in 2019 than the early 1970s. The time to jump ship may be very short.
Republican senators should be seriously considering their options right now. McConnell and Graham are chained to the mast but others have choices. They can choose to do the right thing, get the country through this trying time as quickly as possible and then do something worthwhile with what they have left of their lives and careers.
I realize most will cower in the shadows and hope gratitude from the beneficiaries of the high end tax cuts will be enough to give them some form of safe harbor. But I think the time for that quid pro quo has probably expired.
Change course Senate Republicans. Show that you actually care about the Country and our Democracy. Look at that enameled flag on your lapel and do the right thing.
843
@JohnFred Like what? What do you think the Republican senators should do? "Doing the right thing" is not in the Republican playbook. That enameled flag means nothing to them. I agree with you...it would be nice if senators could place country above politics, but it won't happen. Why do you think they've become senators? Maintaining a seat in the Senate takes precedence above everything.
47
@alabreabreal
I find it highly unlikely most Republican Senators will find a spine. Possibly Romney and Sasse. Watch for McConnell to pull another violation of the Constitution by refusing to schedule an impeachment trial in the Senate. His first such stunt was to refuse to hold a Supreme Court confirmation hearing of Obama’s nominee. Where in the Constitution does it say the Senate majority lead has a one year pocket veto over the President ‘s choice? Moscow Mitch will do anything to win by any outrageous means necessary. He has no ethics. If the impossible happens and we get President Pence, watch for the full and complete pardon of Trump “ for the good of the country “ of course. Another obsequiousness empty suit who was also involved in the effort to strong arm Ukraine to fabricate dirt on the Bidens. He and AG Barr should also be impeached for their involvement, duplicity, and cover up. Barr is making a mockery of the Justice Dept. He is just the enabler of an imperial President who wants autocratic power.
48
Would be nice but like most things that sound too good to be true Republicans standing up to Trump and doing what’s in the best interests of America as opposed to their reelection prospects or future lobbying jobs is a fantasy.
21
I think one of the most important, and saddest, things Mr Blow calls out here is the dominance of "transactional ethics" in the Republican Party. Once upon a time I disagreed with them, but realized, and respected, that they were acting from deeply held convictions. Now they have no convictions, or principles, or (I think) souls.
91
@Neal
They are committed to one thing....
$$$$$$$$!
Follow the money.
Lots and lots of foreign money funnelled in through the NRA (and other entities) into their waiting campaign coffers.
The Trump Tribe of Republican senators and representatives are all culpable comrades in this illegal foreign money scheme, and so they will never squeal or give up their support of their lord master DJT no matter how egregiously he behaves.
And of course the real reason Trump will always do exactly what the NRA's demands.
Likewise, Republicans must defend Donald at all costs as if their livelihood depended on it...because it does.
1
The truly sad and disturbing part of the whole trump fiasco is that 40-something percent of the electorate still approves of and supports him. It is this 40% that the GOP fears and the same 40% holding the country hostage and the same 40% that seems willing to destroy the nation. They may get their way.
1
If the Republican leaders want to redeem themselves, they should insist that the impeachment inquiry also examine the question of Trump's taxes, which he has been claiming are "under audit." E.g., they could insist that Congress subpoena whomever in the IRS is responsible for handling the case, to verify returns have been filed and what the hold-ups have been. This really could lift a dark cloud that's been hanging over Trump for years. Or are they afraid, possibly, that the dark cloud is a lot better than the facts?
5
I was just at a bakery in town (a bright blue part of the world) and the radio station was playing some new version of Sweet Home Alabama. The lyric "Now, Watergate does not bother me" jumped out at me. It's completely horrifying that Watergate did not bother them then, and that this song is still acceptable enough to be re-made. And today's GOP? Same attitude. I guess about 30% of the American population are just ok with corruption.
3
"Others, though, will need to develop a language of penance and conciliation, a way of explaining to the world how they followed in lock step behind Trump and his corruption until that was no longer tenable."
If those "others" exist, they can lead the way for many of Trump's followers to do the same, explaining how they had been conned, by the fake TV side show hustler.
If those "others" do not exist, and impeacment fails in the senate, then it is much better that the Dems go down fighting the corruption, not enabling it by their silence. This will become only the first of many political battles for our democracy, and for our country.
4
"Impeaching Donald Trump would do nothing to halt the deep decay that has beset the American republic. It would not magically restore democratic institutions. It would not return us to the rule of law. It would not curb the predatory appetites of the big banks, the war industry and corporations. It would not get corporate money out of politics or end our system of legalized bribery. It would not halt the wholesale surveillance and monitoring of the public by the security services. It would not end the reigns of terror practiced by paramilitary police in impoverished neighborhoods or the mass incarceration of 2.3 million citizens. It would not impede ICE from hunting down the undocumented and ripping children from their arms to pen them in cages. It would not halt the extraction of fossil fuels and the looming ecocide. It would not give us a press freed from the corporate mandate to turn news into burlesque for profit. It would not end our endless and futile wars. It would not ameliorate the hatred between the nation’s warring tribes—indeed would only exacerbate these hatreds." Chris Hedges-Truthdig. Read the rest of it, it gets even better.
3
As long as Mitch McConnell and his gopher Kevin McCarthy are running the GOP in Congress, there is no redemption. In order to get past this ugly chapter in the GOP history there needs to be a leadership colonic. The party will feel refreshed afterwards.
2
I cannot wait for the Pelosi Report! I am sure it will be just as informative as the Mueller Report. Impeachment proceedings almost as interesting as Game of Thrones however the end result will not take 8 years.
Pelosi the mini series: House passes impeachment, senate rejects, Biden does not become democratic choice and Warren scares the center of the country with her socialist policies. Series finale: The Donald gets his second term. SAD!
3
It is sad that Moscow Mitch may be able to, single-handily, save his fellow GOP Senator's hides by refusing to hold an impeachment trial and vote. My guess is that the founders would have not thought there was a need to require a trial once the House acted. In truth, if the Senate does hold a trial, those Senators not up for re-election in 2020 will consider the chances that Trump will not be in the WH when they are up for re-election. Those GOP Senators are the ones who MIGHT change their vote, and follow the evidence. But those up for re-election in 2020, who are many, are fearful of having a primary fight. What is true is that Trump cannot initiate primary challenges against all of the Senators who vote to impeach, and that the courage of a few could move others. That this is a risky endeavor is obvious. That the conclusion is foregone is not. Be aware that if the House Dems did not follow the facts, the Dem enthusiasm in the 2020 elections would be diminished. They must impeach to win. No one's future is fixed. Neither are the polls, which are swinging. Truthfully, the GOP Senators are in a difficult position. They may be primary-ed if the vote to convict, but also lose if they don't to the Dem candidate. Lose-Lose
Well, ol’ Mitch said something very different just yesterday. Not that that means much with this clown.
But personally, I hope he tries.
This is the Republicans’ best chance to break away from Trump in one big group. The narrative is clear, and the evidence is strong. There is safety in numbers, and the Republicans should take advantage of that. It’s ironic that the democracy the Republicans undervalue and undermine at every turn is giving them this one last chance. They should take it.
3
Wow, Mr. Blow. Thank you for the most persuasive case yet re. impeachment.
We do what's right without knowing the outcome- making sure the outcome is favorable beforehand obviates 'right.'
Impeach.
1
American politics are poisoned by tribalism in the same way as British politics. The US has Trumpism and the UK has Brexit. Like the Mafia this tribalism is based on loyalty to the Chief(Boss, Capo), it has no need for childish notions such as honour, duty, honesty, integrity, or any of those qualities long thought to be fundamental attributes of our democracies. All that matters is the tribe and the boss.
1
"And even after Nixon’s resignation, the right never quite accepted the liberal narrative” of Watergate “as a heroic moment for investigative journalism and a cleansing moment for American politics.”
Not "quite"? They never did. The impeachment of Clinton was rightwing payback for Watergate.
2
Okay, I'll call you "naïve." Absolutely.
Republicans stole a Presidential election from Al Gore.
They "impeached" Bill Clinton on ridiculous charges. They created a "crisis" on Hillary Clinton and her emails and server.
They've stood by and strengthened their backing for Trump, regardless of his lies, hate, racism, prejudice, self enrichment, bedding of foreign dictators dismembering journalists and our electoral process, and on and on.
To expect they'll go along with impeachment when almost half the country consists of their racist enablers, is simply, as previously indicated, "naïve."
We hope for better. History and the facts lead us to believe otherwise.
Sure, as a country we'll get better. Eventually. But we cannot pretend we already are where we need to be. We're a long way off. Trump's election and the undying fanatical support for him provide more than enough evidence of the pathetic, saddening and maddening foregoing.
I doubt Mitchell McConnell will even put this up to vote.
2
Honestly i do not care about the redemption of the Republican Party. I gave up on them when they nominated this maniac and then refused to admit anything was wrong with only a handful of those willing to speak the truth. The Republican Party can cease to be in my opinion and the country would be better off for it.
2
Quotations of inspiration from Animal House:
" I think we have to go all out. I think this situation absolutely requires a futile and stupid gesture on somebody's part."-Otter
"Nothing is over until we decide it's over"-Bluto
"What happened to the Delta I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts?"-Bluto
I wish that Congress would subpoena the full transcripts of all conversations with the Ukraine President and also the transcripts of those calls with Putin (must be something big for the Kremlin to request those calls stay secret) and those with the Saudis.
1
Thank you Charles for conveying what I wish I had the forum and the words to express.
Brilliant writing.
What do you think our chances are?
I think it's going to get a lot worse before it gets any better.
I hope I'm wrong.
3
From an outsider's point of view I am acutely aware that the Senate will not convict him, even if he is actually impeached. Trump will linger on to the end of his term and it's up to you to remove him at the ballot box.
You must. His malign influence has spread way beyond your borders and the disgusting actions of our own minority government in the UK have been learned from your administration. Lie, accuse, project, double-down, conspire, deny, lose. Repeat.
Trump is an utter failure as a leader, a commander, a negotiator and a figure head. He's a roaring success as a populist, a liar, a white supremacist, a con-man and a chancer, convincing people to vote against their own interests whilst enriching himself and his allies.
The process of Impeachment is a chance to expose it all, on the record, in the public domain. It will fail as an exercise in regime-change but I have faith that the American people will not vote for this type of non-governance again.
If you remove him, we will all benefit around the globe, especially those of us in Europe and Latin America facing copy-cat governments. Please don't let us down because we need the USA to step up and take the lead once again, rather than being a reality TV show where contestants get to choose how badly they want people treated.
The far-left and the far-right have, historically, failed. The centre is wide open on both the right and the left. Seize it, whichever way your politics lean.
5
Thanks. You used found the word I've been searching for, for this experience. "Malignant". Perfect.
1
I have some thoughts about this. First, is the transcript that was released even the original or doctored? I also want to know what it would take for a Republican to admit Donald Trump did something wrong. If a person was laying on the floor dead and Donald Trump had the weapon in his hand, would they continue to say he did nothing wrong? Next, why should we call the whistle blower a traitor when he went through the correct channels to report the crime? He did not go to the press. Finally, I wish Rudy Giuliani would stop talking. He keeps doing a monologue on all of the news shows. Please let someone else speak!
No redemption for the GOP.
None.
Vote them all out.
2
Excellent column, Mr. Blow. I suspect most Congressional Republicans won't begin to change course until (if/when) their Donors decide that they can... Does not the entire Trump presidency signify how our wealthiest "elites" place money above all else? They place it above the future of the planet, Democracy, the rule of law, and the recognition of the humanity of entire social groups.
You can be a sexual abuser, a white supremacist, a criminal (financial fraud, bank fraud, tax fraud, mail fraud, extortionist, washer of money for seedy Russian oligarchs, profiteer off the Office of the President), and a child abuser who locks up even toddlers in cages... but absolution of those sins is quite possible IF you sign into law massive tax cuts for the wealthiest elites, promote fossil fuels / deny the climate crisis, and roll back environmental and banking regulations.
The GOP won't have a "reckoning" and abandon trump until their apparent morally bankrupted Donors do first.
2
Mr Blow is exactly right about Republicans who never believed Nixon should have resigned or was a crook. Roger Stone and Dick Cheney are two prominent examples.
“Redemption for Republicans.” Now that is simply not going to happen. One need only look at the Vice President looking admiringly at his boss to understand the sheer hypocrisy of the republicans who follow and bow down to the most amoral president in the history of this country. Have they no decency, no courage? No.
The spineless enablers have hitched their wagons to this sociopath. Some may try to distance themselves. But we know the damage that has been done. We know that congressional republicans have no credibility, and have betrayed the American people. Some may survive electorally, but many will be judged harshly by the public they've turned their backs on.
Could Trump have avoided much of this brouhaha if, rather than Giuliani, he had used Christopher Steele as his intermediary to the Ukrainian government?
1
I will try to imagine that some Republicans still have some conscience. But what so far: when you look into what a Republican says and how they think what you see is a bottomless howling moral void.
They have made a pact with the devil in both the Faustian sense and the Trumpian sense. They will sell out the health of their children and grandchildren for a quick buck. They will cater to the whims of their largest donors. They will give their thoughts and prayers after each and every massacre. They are too far gone to ever develop a moral compass.
The Republicans in Congress should be held responsible for this tragedy. They nominated him and nurture his inept loony personality. Trump has a malignant anti-social narcissistic personality disorder and like the other tyrants in history who self-destructed after destroying much around them, he does not have a normal self-awareness and functioning boundary-setting mental capability. He is devoid of empathy for others, which is a dangerous omission in a human psyche, particularly if the person has a powerful position over people. Donald Trump can’t help himself, but needs help before he becomes completely unhinged from reality. Unhinging him from the office of President should be a priority of both Democrats and Republicans in Congress,
1
If we could ever get the Corporate Democrats to show some leadership...oh, right, probably not. Too busy trying to sink Progressives, Medicare for All, attention to Republicrook crime, decency on the Supreme Court, reasonable immigration, education for all, financial regulation, and democracy itself. There's just too much money at stake, for our beloved incumbent elected officials, whose pockets still have some room. Pelosi (and Schumer) is a joke and a loser. Always has been. "Impeach quickly?" Really?
1
Charles you have great faith.
pompeo is going to Italy and reportedly will be seeing the Pope while there.
pompeo has accepted a position with a corrupt administration; most likely he knew of rump's strong arming (impeachable) conversation with the new Ukraine president, and yet he wants to be face to face with the worldwide leader of the Catholic church.
Just not optimistic and thinking this should be two separate countries. I don't want to be in a country whose many citizens voted in rump, who in turn appointed/hired pompeo, kavanaugh, miller, conway...or any gop who resigned their position but didn't let the citizens of the US know what rump was doing (generals hr mcmaster, kelly)
moscow mitch ...there are no words, just declining civilization.
The whistle blower had the courage, but not the generals?
Charles I hope you have enough faith for a lot of us, who don't.
Trump will survive this. Not because he's not guilty of treasonous wrongdoing. Oh he is - but because a huge minority of regular Americans will support him no matter what.
They don't care that he is a criminal. They like it. In their heart of hearts they admire him. They would all like to shoot someone on 5th Avenue and get away with it.
He will not only survive this, but will very likely be reelected in 2020.
1
One should not beg scoundrels not to be scoundrels. Is it naivety or cowardice that sees so many still on their knees imploring to be delivered from evil? To be decent is not enough, one must also be strong enough to recognize mortal enemies when faced with them, and that is what has been happening for decades now. The US is staring at the abyss. How weak mighty American democracy turned out to be in the end.
being a patriot means more than wearing a red tie with an American flag pin on your suit jacket. It is time for Republican Senators to stand up for their country AND their party by removing this unfit extremist, who runs the presidency using the same principles as a mob boss. Save America!
It's no sad surprise that Trump spent the weekend golfing (his 102nd time in 3 years), TV-watching and tweet-raging.
Trump and his minions are trying to spread a debunked conspiracy about the Bidens. The Narcissist-in-Chief believes whatever serves his immediate interest and denies the truth of anything that does not.
Dishonest. Unethical. Dangerous to American democracy.
Only the most isolating Supermax prison will do for Trump and his associates; perhaps another "Guantanamo" for all of them.
Republicans, stop being scared of the president. I can’t believe I had to say that. This is the first time we’ve ever had a president so excessively abusive. A president who terrorizes everyone in his path.
There is safety in numbers; he can’t primary all of you.
This is so clear cut that it is easily explainable to your constituents.
Your chance to break free of this tyrant is being handed to you on a silver platter, by the man himself.
Oh, and hey, you can save America at the same time. Win-win.
Just do it.
Dear Mr. Blow,
I love you, but you are naive: Republicans under Trump have become an entirely new species of invertebrate: they are not simply spineless; they have the power to remove the spines of anyone they come in contact with. I have no hope that any one of them except possibly (possibly) a few from swing states acting in their own interest might make some 'this is wrong' noises. But when you crawl on the ground for so long, all you know is dirt. So, I expect nothing from them except more of the moral cowardice, hypocrisy and insanity which are now the only things their party stands for. Quite the Grand Old Party.
Trump tweeted today "I want Schiff questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason".
I've lived through the presidencies of Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama. They all made mistakes. But none went off their rocker quite as spectacularly as this.
4
Now is the time to talk to your Republican friends. Admit that you had hope that maybe he might be all he promised. He failed. Not you! He failed you even as you made excuses for his lies and vulgarity and face it, ignorance. Yes he gave you much that you wanted. But he took away more. When you think about it, the future of America is just that---the FUTURE. Climate change, immigration, the environment, health care for all. We can be great still, but not by going back on the gains we made. My republican friends, you were not wrong to hope, but now the hope has been dashed by the total of all his lies. The worst being to blame everything on me, a democrat, and me, a friend and intense patriot. None of us is to blame. Trump is. Think about it.
Thank you Mr. Blow for your kindly advice, and I have no doubt you wish only the best for the Republican Party, but Republicans will their take advice from others than a far left progressive Democrat.
1
The Trump Impeachment issue is moving ahead at warp speed. Tweet speed. We've attended your wise words since 2008, Charles Blow, and today await the impeachment of our 45th president and his removal from office.
Will we witness the restoration of our American democracy after Trump's impeachment? Or will the corrupt G.O.P. Senators (in this president's big pockets) vote against impeachment?
Will we see "the malignant fraud" (this crooked President since 2016) fail and fall? Or will Trump prevail and initiate Civil War Redux between our tragically disunited states? Will Donald Trump fatally betray our Constitution?
I think some tee shirts should be made with the headline of this article. You could shorten it, even.
...oh, wait!
A Congresswoman already has.
1
Republicans will never redeem themselves. That's like asking air to stop being air and water to become a brick.
The GOP no longer exists. It is a literal dead letter.
You fail to mention that these Republican lawmakers are not, stupid people, unlike many of their supporters. Except for a handful (Gohmert, Lee, Nunes) these are accomplished, educated, involved people. When they say they haven't read the nine page complaint from the whistle blower, three days after it's release, you know their lying because they are smart, they know this matters and they know it's bad. Just finished watching 16 hours of Ken Burns' documentary about country music. So many artists dying young due to alcohol, drugs and reckless behavior. When viewed from the distance of only a few years one can see clearly that the behavior, if continued, would mean certain death, and yet, they persisted. It is so clear to me and, therefore, must be to these Republican lawmakers that nothing good can come of being loyal to Trump. There is never any reciprocation, there is nothing to be proud of now and there can only be ridicule and ostracism later. History will not be kind to these Republicans, by the time it dawns on them, hopefully, they'll be history.
I've always believed that Trump and his team of political assassins have the dirt on just about anyone who could possibly derail Trump.
And, very dirty dirt, like what you step into when you walk on the grass where people walk their dogs and it smells horrid and you can't get it off your shoes.
The kind that gets you prosecuted, or ruins your career for life.
And, that's why we may not see any cracks in the defense of Trump.
Charles you, and many others, claim repubs want to hang onto their power and position. What power? What position? Under trump, power means saluting smartly and agreeing to whatever tumbles out of his mouth. As for position. It comes down to how much you can twist yourself into a pretzel to try and expain his actions.
It is far too late for the Republicans. Those who have remained with him this far are lifers. Unredeemable.
1
Trump must have been told that it is illegal for him to attempt to coerce a foreign power for his own political gain. Yet he went ahead with it anyway, feeling emboldened immediately after the release of the Mueller report, because he is an arrogant and malevolent narcissist.
Trump now tells us that the whistle-blower report indicates that people are “spying” on him. He patently suggests that those responsible within the intelligence community should be put to death.
If that is not enough to send the coldest and darkest chill down your spine, then what is?
If we as a people lack the resolve to impeach *and convict* this president, then the America we have always known will no longer exist. That will be our new – and desolate – reality.
And the Republican party, in enabling such an outcome, should not be allowed to survive it.
That would give us our only chance to rebuild a viable and sustainable future for our children.
1
The other horror story of our country’s political history is Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State” and the Clinton family foundation”s “pay to play” to foreign leaders in hopes of getting favors once she was elected president. Fortunately, for our country she lost. Trump is a chump compared to t
Hillary.
1
Republicans tried 8 times to convict, couldn’t find anything and she came up smiling. Oh yes, and we could still take Cuba.
1
@Reva Cooper
She was never convicted because the deep state was in her pocket. Not to mention holder. Comey and Lynch.
1
Only desperate cowards will impeach a president who won the electoral college fair and square. You want to get rid of the president I dare you if you have guts to do it in the ballot box in 2020. The real malignant fraudsters are those trying to undermine our democracy by exhibiting extreme malicious partisanship. It was wrong to impeach president Clinton and it will be wrong to impeach Trump. I will not resign....... Bill Clinton, 1998 and I expect Trump not to resign in 2019 or before the end of his term.
What do the Republicans need to redeem themselves for? Doing what the Republicans wanted him to do? Republicans do need to redeem themselves for losing the house to Pelosi and the extreme left socialist squad and if the democrats do impeach Trump they will certainly lose their do nothing majority in the house. Pelosi has already said that she will not mind if the Democrats lose majority in 2020 but they will impeach 45 and achieve their coup. With one point agenda of evicting Trump from the house they 100% deserve to lose their congressional majority and speakership in 2020. Right now it is very scary that Pelosi is 3rd in line to be president. What will be left to do if her one point agenda is accomplished? Sometimes one does not appreciate someone until they are gone. The parallel economy of the Trump hating fraudsters will collapse the day Trump leaves office. Who will they hate next?
2
What’s left is to defeat Mc Connell as your senator and Senate majority leader. And the chances of that are getting better.
We never thought Nixon would resign but he did. Does Trump have a shred of shame or is he morally bankrupt?
Some, Many, who label themselves Republicans. The ones who are willfully blind, deliberately obtuse, ideological hypocritical , and some who are pathological liars, as is the “figurative head” ; how then can any person seeking rational, logical, objective reasoning ever arrive at what is the real, actual, meaning value of “Quid Pro Quo” ? As far as my own reasoning of the definition, the fact that Donald Trump, and his willing subservient minions, even attempted the Original Intent is “Quid Pro Quo” enough for me. True Intent (meditative , methodical thinking and effort) is the decisive determination in whether a person is charged with attempted 1st degree murder. Isn’t it ? (!!!) So? “Quid Pro Quo” ?
1
The problem with the Republicans is that they are all corrupt. They demonstrate everyday that they are the party of Trump. Redemption is impossible for them. They need to be removed from office along with the President.
Republicans are hoping Justice Ginsberg dies in time for Trump to select a new Justice. After that, all bets are off.
Kudos Charles.
When will he say it? When will Trump finally utter the ultimate statement? "I am not a crook!"
Can Democrats find some Republicans who actually believe that fellow Americans called Democrats have a right to live here, vote here and serve in the government of the United States of America?
Do Republicans believe in an American democracy where you win some elections and lose some others?
Or do Republicans believe that all is fair in elections including using foreign influence to undermine opponents through disinformation?
If it is the latter, then they are traitors to the Constitution that they find useful only when it supports their positions. That is not democracy. That is totalitarianism.
Isn't it ironic that the party of fiscal conservatism and a strong defense now aligns itself with the biggest deficits in history and collusion with former communist nations? Their hypocrisy knows no limits.
@ADN PC wokeness at work. To be above the fray sometimes means being complicit. To even insinuate what I think you are insinuating and I thinking I know what you are insinuating is anathema to a sacred cow that is exploited by both parties. As a result, a preferred class in the media’s eyes is protected. But, hey, victimhood is the lingua franca of the age.
Yes, we should look at Linsey Graham and really question the influence tRump seems to exert over him. I would suggest that Donald knows, figuratively speaking, where all the boys' bodies are buried in Linsey's garden. Hushed innuendo and "open" secrets have hovered around him over that past 30+ years, but tRump most likely told Linsey in no uncertain terms to toe the line or he'd rip the door off Graham's closet.
Ok, you’re naive.
The impeachment will force the Republican Senators to make a very telling and difficult vote on the charges against trump.
Most will tow the party line and they will fail to convict him.
They will pay for their fecklessness and cowardice at the polls.
This Party will die the ugly death it so richly deserves.
Remember, these are the guys who, with a straight face, tried to repeal 30,000,000 people’s access to health care.
May Trump resign for the good of the country.
May Pence see the light and confess to his own part in the lying.
May his supporters awaken from their cultish fog.
May he be impeached, as he deserves.
Yes, impeach the malignant fraudster.
The only good thing Trump has done is destroy the Republican Party.
Why is anyone surprised? Long before he became president Trump brazenly bragged that he would not lose support even if he shot some one on 5th Avenue. The cumulative impact of his egregious behavior to date may be worse than the shooting. Trump continues to embarrass America. It is time for him to go. Even if it means Pence takes over.
Let’s just the phone call was inappropriate, Where is the outrage a Joe Biden? And why aren’t his fellow Dems seizing on this opportunity to put him down? It just shows the duplicity of the Press. And you wonder why you are not trusted? Ridiculous.
This is powerful Charles. Are these Congressional Republicans so arrogant that they think they can lie, cheat and steal from the entire nation? Is it shame that is keeping them from standing for justice? Are they simply weaklings who can’t face their home town Trumpites even though they know full well that he’s a crook? Are some entwined with Moscow Mitch up to their eyeballs? What kind of treasonous acts have they also been up to? Let’s say: all of the above. But it’s not too late for them to start saving their souls.
Trump’s ship is sinking slowly and some Republicans knows that it is inevitable, he’s gone too far in is delirium it as become unsustainable more and more peoples are turning away from this hypocrisy.
Impeaching Trump puts Pence in the White House. He might have a better chance of gaining the Presidency.
More hate and Trump derangement. This will end like the Mueller report, and the so called "whistleblower" will end up in prison.
1
Trump supporters (i.e. Republicans) have a clear choice as their Monster of Ceremonies is being Impeached: They can either support the rule of law and the Constitution of the United States or go down in history as those who would have overthrown American Democracy. Right v. wrong; good v. evil. Pretty binary!
Regardless, they will never be able to be trusted again as a political entity. Their redemption, if such is possible, will take generations. The sooner they begin, the better their chances. Just look at Nixon! For those hardcore political sycophants and animals like Lindsay Graham, there is no redemption. He floats with the wind and is amongst the worst of the hypocrites, especially considering his questionable friendship with John McCain. McCain would have certainly been the first in line to skewer Trump for any number of thousands of reasons.
The Devon Nunes, Bill Barrs, Wilbur Rosses, Steven Mnuchin's and the rest of the inner circle of crooks will also have to disappear themselves.
1
Fabulous article!
I must point out that there shouldn't be a comma after AND, BUT or OR in the beginning of a sentence.
Don't vote articles of impeachment. Trump is a despicable person and a disgraceful president who has damaged American government institutions and a political party in ways that will far outlast his loathsome presence. Trumpites will outlive Trump. Don't give them an out, to claim he was driven from office unfairly, and use that to create Trump 2.0. He deserves to be impeached, convicted and removed from office. But that's not going to happen. The House should lay out his abuses of power clearly and forcefully. Then use those findings to beat him soundly in the next election. Don't bail out his followers or the GOP. Make them remember the day after the 2020 election and never want to live through it again.
The "quality" of trump's defenders on the Sunday shows says everything. Miller, Graham, Scalise, Rudy.
To me the litany of Trump malfeasance is, in a all likelihood, akin to an iceberg - with only 20% known and above the surface.
This should scare the bejesus out of people.
1
The Republicans, if they had any backbone, could have saved us from at least some of the messy disaster of Trump. How? Their majority in the Senate is slim. Leadership (?) in the House and Senate could have laid down the law to Trump: either you moderate what you are doing and establish new controls on going to war or you will get ZERO from Republicans in Congress.
As things turned out, Trump has gotten close to zero anyway. What has passed, even when they held the majority in both houses? There was the big fat tax cut for the wealthy and a stealth tax increase on mortgage holders in the states that vote for Democrats in the form of a reducing interest deductions allowed on mortgage interest. No wall funds voted. Trump then went around the Republican congress with executive orders and by withholding appropriated funds.
Trump is at war with California, he is at war on clean air and water, at war on doing anything about climate change, at war with orderly procedures on immigrants and refugees, at war with decent treatment with children at the border, at war with the news media (except those who toe his line) and at war with most of the countries who are our friends. Oh, yeah, nearly at war with Iran, in love with the murderers in Saudi Arabia, in love with North Korea and can't stop himself from getting kissy faced with Putin, an active enemy of the United States. At war with the FBI and America's intelligence community generally.
Resign, be impeached or defeated in 2020.
1
Why worry about the Senate?
Trump has admitted to weakening the Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Putin’s invading forces.....
Trump has admitted trying to get ‘dirt’ on his main political opponent......
Trump has admitted trying to get the Ukrainian government to help him rewrite the history of Russian interference in 2016.
All in his own words.
The more outrageously the Republicans try to ‘spin’ these facts the more they will force moderate Americans to vote against them and Trump.
All the Democrats have to do now is keep emphasising:
extortion,
treason and
seeking foreign interference.
Redemption?
Confused as they are, they will never accept reality.
A large majority of Republican politicians come very safe areas and will comply with the wishes of their brainwashed electorate. As for the others, hope will be their savior, not to mention a primary challenge coming their way if they disobey.
They are all cowards and will remain so. A perfect example: Graham from Southj Carolina. A strong opponent of the Liar until he became a mouthpiece. A politician like him would normally be booted out of office but in 2019 Trumpland, the more you kiss, the more you get hooked in.
Impeach, please.
4
Jason REILLY of WSJ characterized effort to impeach president on basis of a phone call from a "whistle blower" whose sources were secondary and tertiary as "weak tea!" Reilly always finds "le mot juste,"and sums up sentiments of many of us. WOULD LIKE To see Mr. Reilly writing for the Times newspaper whose columns are well thought out,balanced, informative, free of bluster and activism, a real pro.No disrespect there, but you always seem to be writing in CAPITAL LETTERS, and your emotions about the chief of state outweigh reasoned analysis. Alexander Harrison is not just anybody, but a graduate of Harvard, Harvard of the south, Tulane University whose acquaintances included such luminaries as Harnett Kane,author of "Louisiana Hayride,"among other great works, Charles Roland, my adviser and renowned Civil War historian, and Clay Shaw,among others whom I met "tout a fait comme par hasard,"on the L.I.R.R.in 1971, and this was just after his acquittal in a trial in which he was accused as a co conspirator in the killing of the president.Shaw, was previously a businessman and pillar of the community in N.0. But to return to the point,or as they say in Breaux Bridge,"revenir aux moutons,"my suggestion is to go easy on the president until you, second person plural,have solid proof of "High crimes and Misdemeanors!"Present effort to get DJT could turn out to be a wet firecracker, like the Mueller investigation.
1
Investigate the impeachable offense. Pass a censure motion. On to the election.
The bill has come due for Trump and must be paid, but let’s have a clean sweep. People are tired of politicians monetizing their names. They don’t like all the playing close to the line where perception vs reality leaves them having to defend the “gray area” if their guy did it. Trump needs to go. Most of the Republican Party needs to go. But whether you you like Bernie or Pete or Kamala or Elizabeth or any of the others, you don’t have to worry about their character. Pick a policy and vote for it. Pick a leader and vote for him or her. But it is time for the Clintons, the Bidens and all the people from that era to go, too. I don’t think Biden or his son did anything wrong. I didn’t think Hillary did anything illegal. On the other hand, I don’t like the way they roll.. Elizabeth Warren hasn’t cravenly tried to make money off her name. Pete hasn’t told Chasten to get a job with an oligarch but “just don’t tell me about it.” The same can be said for all the others. But what the heck was Hunter Biden doing working for an oligarch at an oil company in Ukraine at a job for which his only qualification was his last name? Why did Joe Biden tell him not to discuss his business activities with him? We need a fresh start with honest people where the only issues are policies and leadership skills. Trump is a dirty, amoral traitor. Nothing else anyone has done is remotely comparable. But Trump’s original criticism of insider shenanigans still rings true. Throw ‘me all out.
It appears to me that Donald Trump had cause to initiate an investigation into precisely why Joe Biden’s son was paid $50,000 per month by a Ukrainian gas company while VP Joe Biden was the Obama administration point man for Ukraine overseeing a $billion dollar loan to that country.
The Democrats didn’t have any objection when it was their team investigating Trump’s alleged Russia connections. So now that the shoe is on the other foot, the Dems cry foul?
People become Republican politicians because in the USA they are the ultimate opportunists. In the USSR, they joined the KGB.
The wax wings have melted; next is free fall.
Another excellent opinion piece, Charles. Thank you!
Well, at least he hasn't shot anyone on Fifth Avenue (that we know of). Give him a break (so he can go out and shoot someone on Fifth Avenue).
"But, I refuse to believe that the totality of the Republican Party system is corrupt beyond the possibility of contrition, that every single Republican senator would turn their backs on the country. Call me naïve." Yes, Mr. Blow, you are definitely naïve.
Don't hold your breath.
1
The world's smallest book may be Shiki no Kusabana (flowers of seasons) with 22 pages each of which is 0.75 millimeters is size.
The world's shortest book if published would probably be Republicans who Favor Country over Party with 53 pages for the Senate and 196 pages for the House all of which are blank.
Trump has expoused the "sore loser" theory from the beginning. It is an incredibly childish taunt and simply wrong. People don't think he's the worst President because they are angry over not getting the President they voted for. People are angry because they have a grifter as President who does everything he can think of to dismantle our institutions, insult our allies and abuse the power of his office.
1
How is Trump going to react to impeachment?... the same way he reacts to everything else. Throw his staff and his friends under the bus. Crank up his troll farms to flood the internet with garbage. Hire a bunch of thousand dollar an hour lawyers who don't care about twisting the law. Bribery and blackmail. Remind us of the gun-toting segment of his fan club and try to scare us. This is who he is. Why do Republicans support it?
BEFORE we impeached, we passed good legislation for American families, for American communities, for reigning in abuses. Let's get the current president out, let's get the current Trumpublican Senate out, that will never vote for what the House Democrats have already passed (look it up and decide if its for you, don't let pundits tell you what this legislation is, they are paid to lie).
I predict FOXY TRUMP will get rid of VP Pence and install Ivanka, so if he IS IMPEACHED, she would become the President. God knows, he's foisted the first daughter on so many allies they are gag every time she blathers on and on about some faux project to improve "women's lives."
Viola, then Trump could be CERTAIN that Ivanka would PARDON HIM so he could avoid a jail term. This, of course, is assuming that any private asylum guarantees he had negotiated earlier with Putin have now been sidelined since Trump and Giuliani's bumbling political meddling has failed to hand over Ukraine...
Sad.
1
I don't think the Senate will impeach Trump, and I don't care. I want every Republican Trump apologist to go on the record with whatever nonsensical argument they will try to come up with to distract us from the simple fact that Trump used the office of the Presidency (again!) for personal benefit. Then let the American public speak in the 2020 elections.
Charles,
I agree with most of what you say. However, I do NOT believe the Republican Party apparatus can be salvaged. It is the corruption at the core of the party that spawned the rise of a serpent like Trump in the first place.
From Ronald Reagan's declaration that "... government is the problem..." to Newt Gingrich's deliberate savaging of the principal of comity for partisan gain, to Moscow Mitch's eagerness to sacrifice any semblance of checks and balances on that same partisan altar, to Lindsey Graham's unseemly kneeling before Trump willing to do whatever his master dictates - this party is rotten to it's very core.
America needs a conservative voice - a truly conservative voice to balance the scales of politics. The present Republican/Trumpian party is anything but conservative. Let us hope, let us pray (if we're so inclined) that the remaining honest souls in the Republican Party, those who are conscientious (but lamentably silent) objectors to the travesty this has become, can reconstruct a Phoenix from the ashes of what was once a proud and honorable institution.
The problem is that many of these Republicans have shown over the past years that they have nothing to redeem What you see is all there is. Many denigrated and despised Trump and immediately rushed to pay fealty and homage when he was elected. The only way they will change their tune is if their complicity, collusion, corruption, is in danger of being uncovered or if they can calculate a higher return for themselves by taking a different tack.
It's a simple calculation, x (what to do) = self-gratification.
Neither country (nor world or planet), nor aspirational American ideals, nor ethics, are part of their simple self-serving equation.
If the Senate votes to remove Trump (after the House impeachment vote) I believe that will put Republicans back on the fast track to 2020 elections victory. Even the Never Trumpers will come back into the fold and vote Republican. But...one can only dream....
I believe we could demonstrate the likelihood of Republicans acting in a responsible way regarding Donald Trump, by utilizing a snowball and a blowtorch.
This idea that impeachment is somehow bad in that it annuls an election is nonsense. The procedure for impeachment comes from the same place as the establishment of the electoral college system, i.e., the Constitution of the United States.
Our last hope may be that the Republican women - Senators Collins and Murkowski - have the mettle to step forward and lead the way. Ladies, now is your time to show what that extra piece on the X chromosome is for!
1
If Trump did not send the transcript to Congress asking the Ukraine Prime Minister to investigate his possible political opponent in 2020 impeachment would not be happening. Trump would have called the whistle blower all his usual name calling and nothing would have happen.
Trump and Giuliani thought that because Trump did not say exactly that here would be no arms unless there is an investigation that made him innocent on everything. My question is was there anyone else there that insane to think that confessing to a crime would be O.K.
It seems the Republicans who WILL lose their seats in 2020 due to Trump will have a soft landing on right-wing media (Fox comes to mind; see Paul Ryan). If they go against Trump and defend our DEMOCRACY, the right wing will attack them, and (sniff) that means their opinions will mean nothing to the right-wing media. It all comes down to money with this bunch.
This is a piece of writing for the ages, a call to arms from the future to finally, at last, take a stand for what is decent and right. History will not be kind to those who continue to lie and cover up for this craven reality show president.
Answers inline:
"There must be some patriots, at least a handful, in the Republican Party. There must be some who have the courage — the guts! — to stand up for righteousness, to not look like hacks and hypocrites in the annals of history.
There must be, right?"
No.
"The impeachment of Donald Trump offers an opportunity for redemption for Republicans. The only question is how many will seize it?"
None.
"It must have been an awesome feeling, to float above the rules made for the commoners, to be unbound by trust, virtue, morality and responsibility."
This sums up the gleeful attitude of trump supporters. They seem to love the permission to be openly bigoted; to insult any minority group as an enemy. They seem so happy to 'make liberal heads explode'! They themselves call it an 'awesome feeling'.
The concept of United States, or Indivisible, or Divided We Fall, or 'the Republic for which it stands'....these aren't as fun, I guess. Boring old Constitution doesn't feel as good as sticking it to immigrants.
I'm not surprised at trump's manner; he has always been a vile man. I AM surprised at how quickly his followers gave up their American values in favor of eager division.
A recent CBS poll found that 23% of republicans are in favor of the impeachment inquiry. That is bad news for Trump but good news for America. If it hits 30% I believe the defections will come. The dems need to slow roll this until we have 65% in favor with 30+% of republicans on board. Lindsay, Trumps toady, may not see the evil in his ways, but others will.
GOP strategists like Mike Murphy and Rick Wilson, as well as former Senator Jeff Flake, guess that if a secret vote was taken in the Senate, somewhere between 27 and 35 Republicans would vote to remove Trump. Many of them hate him, and are tired of being held hostage to his angry and vindictive supporters.
But we need to understand that there are no profiles in courage among the GOP, and only overwhelming public sentiment for impeachment will move them. It remains to be seen whether the Dems can present such a clear and compelling case that voters will demand consequences for our lawless president.
It's all up to the Democrats. The GOP has become a worthless cult of personality.
Well, name-calling now appears to be a bipartisan phenomenon -- "malignant fraudster," indeed. That surely will change the minds of all those Americans who are still asking, "where's the Ukraine beef?"
And I love the appeal by Mr. Blow to the "patriotism" of Republicans. I thought patriotism was a dirty word, used only by the deplorable grifters. My, my, my.
1
It is not Trump's bill that has come due, but the Democrats' bill. They have been promising their constituents that they would impeach Trump for 3 years or so, and time is running out so they are now obliged to impeach him even though they still have nothing. They now claim that Trump violated the law and the constitution by asking for political assistance from Ukraine, but all he asked for was the truth about what Biden did in Ukraine. What he was asking for is for Ukraine to appoint some upstanding prosecutor like Mueller, say, if there is such a person in Ukraine and have him investigate Biden's activities and report back as to his determinations. Such an investigation might produce some "dirt" on Biden that would help Trump or more likely Warren or Sanders. On the hand it might not produce anything. Indeed, it might exonerate Biden. Biden claims he used his power to get a prosecutor fired not because he was investigating his son's company but because he was corrupt himself. And maybe that is true. And he says other European countries wanted the prosecutor to be fired. And maybe that also was true. And maybe those others would vouch for Biden. I doesn't suppose Biden could ask Macron or Merkle vouch for him, because he would then be violating the law that the Dems say Trump violated. But the Times could ask them with impunity. The Times can ask anybody and everybody for info that it thinks the people have a right to know. So why doesn't it do it?
2
Mitch McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, is Trump's Secretary of Transportation. Why is this not discussed as an inconceivable, untenable, unacceptable situation utterly begging for "quid pro quo" behavior and McConnell continuing to kowtow to Trump who is his wife's boss?
It is past time to impeach "45" in the House, put him and his criminal behavior on trial in the Senate, and remove the treasonous deviant from office. The world is watching and American citizens, loyal to the Constitution, are waiting.
3
Republicans have been relegated to the dustbin of history. Their demise began with the Tea Party and continues in a downward death spiral. The party today is based solely on loyalty and outright hatred of an invented vision of democrats. It is likely a new party will emerge as a result of ideological differences within the Democratic Party and republicans will at most be a distant third party with little relevance beyond being a party of domestic terrorism.
1
And today, trump put his defense in the hands of Miller and Giuliani. If these are trump's 'bests,' trump is in serious trouble. These two clowns are doing as much to incriminate trump as trump himself.
I have to wonder whether McConnell is biding his time, plotting his course with a putative nominee so that, after the House votes articles of impeachment, he can instruct his Republican sheep to convict and remove trump, with a new slate ready to take on the Dems in November 2020.
The mental gymnastics have to end at some point...Trump's enablers in the Senate are essentially saying now, "Yes, he committed a horrible offense, but hey, he's our guy, what are we supposed to do?" Really?! Are you guys leaders or not! Throw Trump under the bus where he belongs or be dragged down with him.
It would be ironic, if not poetic: Fox News keeps a debunked fantasy about Biden in Ukraine alive, because it it good for ratings. Trump falls for it. Can’t let it go be because Fox won’t let it go. And this is what brings him down (one hopes).
1
Don't ask them to redeem themselves let them go down with their Captain. Almost three years of being loyal crew members on Trump's ship cannot be redeemed. Racial division, losing our stature in the world and making us the clown of the world can only be settled at the ballot box. Our lives for almost three years have been on pause while have to watch The Trump reality show.
Dream on, Mr. Blow. Redemption is being freed from sin, to rejoin morality. But getting elected is all that matters to Republican senators, having nothing to do with morality. Only expedient self preservation is what matters. That's today's American conservatism. That's why your premise is fantasy.
2
Columnist Charles Blow offers here his usual "Blow-Out"
when he talks about Donald Trump.
Everybody already knows about his disdain for Trump (which i share) but this article only talks about Republican redemption then goes on to explain that the removal of Trump from office is just about impossible until January 20. 2021, Inauguration Day.
It might be more productive if Blow had offered up a suggestion of how to beat Trump in the coming election.
Obviously, the "Dems" must choose the most electable candidate.
That would be Joe Biden even if Senator Warren is smarter and a better campaigner.
Because 49% of today's workers are covered by Employer
paid insurance and most are satisfied with that plan.
Elizabeth Warren, with her idea to remove Employer paid insurance, is trying to deliver a natural "loser."
The democrats have an abundance of good, fair minded
candidates this time but the economy and household income are the names of this game.
Employer paid insurance is still considered "income" by most workers.
American elections are not about goodness- fairness.
Our elections are all about Money !
Trump and Biden allow employer paid health insurance which is Money in the minds of most workers.
"Money" is even more dynamic than "I have a Plan" Warren.
Most of the blame here has to fall on the republicans who for whatever reasons have let this total inexperienced president rein as if he knows what he is doing? The president is too incurious and too arrogant to ask the help of those who know how the government works and so proceeds with the same fecklessness as the man who bankrupted five companies (and if not for his father's help, we have no idea however more).
Trying to endure life with a male like Trump is a terrifying and time consumptive loss of one's life. But so is resisting him. This is the dilemma. His parents couldn't deal with his naturally violent nature and neither can the Republicans. It will take all the "tough love" in the country to divest him of his "hubris power."
Sadly, it has been left to Pelosi and Schiff to properly re-parent this bad boy and the country. He will be sent to graze on his golf courses. Whew!
"He could lie incessantly, ..." That's a telling wrap-up to Greatest-Ever President's survivor checklist, Mr. Blow.
Failure to impeach in the Senate is a given. We already know that these Republican Senators "stand for partisanship and political expediency". Their leader was announcing the theft of a SC seat within hours of confirmation of Scalia's death. It was planned; it was deliberate; the irresistible carrot remains and secures Republican voters' allegiance WAY into the future.
It's sad-funny that Never-Trumpers and conservatives looking for a way back --- have zero problem with demanding that Pelosi choose political expediency over the Constitution.
Donald Trump needs a win in the Main Tent, NOW!, so his ugly past, his bizarre present, and his ongoing battles to keep his tax returns secret and Roger Stone quiet --- become forgettable sideshows. (Since readers have misconstrued, I don't want that.)
A public win over Democrats, IS WHAT DONALD TRUMP DESPERATELY NEEDS. He can feed-off of a victory of any sort and Giuliani, Fox News, et al will follow suit.
If the time is nigh, there is a deceiver is in plain sight.
The republicans need to take a stand & embrace the "inquiry". If it goes nowhere, they can say "We told you so". But they need to say if there was nothing done against the Constitution let's find out.
They also need to tell this "man in the White House" that it is NOT OKAY TO THREATEN witnesses & whistle-blowers.
If he is indeed innocent he needs to back off & shut up for the time being & try to do something he hasn't done in 3 years...lead the nation to unity. He is acting like a mob boss.
This is no longer the UNITED States of America. It is the Divided States of trump. With him going after the whistle-blower & now after Clinton again by retroactively labeling emails classified so she can be investigated continually the country has become a dictatorship.
1
Many Republicans will stick with Trump until it is no longer to their advantage and will then abandon him with breast beating claims that they always thought he was a criminal. There should be no redemption for any of them. It was apparent to any rational person from the moment Trump rode his gilded escalator that he was the least qualified and most flawed candidate to have ever sought high elected office in the USA. Every last Republican who has ever supported Trump should be turfed from office and be prosecuted for aiding and abetting this criminal administration especially those who once decried him in the most stark terms only to turn into the ardent sycophants.
1
I detest Trump, his policies, his actions, and all stands for. That said he was duly elected. Impeachment of a duly elected president was meant to be difficult. And it has been, and will continue to be.
3
It took us 250 years to get to what Mason,Madison and Hamilton were afraid of
1
Look, it scares me to say it, but if it's the bullet or the ballot box, the bullet is looking more and more likely all the time. A country can't continue this way: we had one civil war and there's no reason to believe we couldn't have another. Sometimes, when I hear about yet another white supremacist mass shooting, I wonder if it hasn't started already.
Look, this trial is going to take place in the court of public opinion. If the public turns on Trump, the denizens of capitol hill will follow. If the public does NOT turn on him, you'd better get ready for four more years of his whining dishonesty. Those Rs on the hill like their cushy jobs that don't require much real work, and most of them will throw Trump to the wolves to keep those jobs. But, they have to hear the wolves howling for
SOMEBODY'S hide, first.
1
22 GOP Senators are up for re-election. How many will win if they support Trump??
Not going to happen. We have a Senate and electorate who are unworthy of our founding documents. Gee, oh well!
1
The article failed to mention how 3 democrat senators enlisted the help of Ukraine back in May by threatening to vote no on aid. It also failed to mention Joe Biden threatening Ukraine (caught on video bragging about it). In Trumps transcript he never threatened or promised anything, simply stated 3 sentences to look into Hunter Biden’s connection. There’s a difference. Democrat Politicians are actually guilty of exactly what Trump is being accused of. If everyone believes in fairness & one standard of law, then by all means everyone involved needs to be investigated & treated the same as Trump. Since they aren’t we realize it’s a farce. Kinda like Democrat Politicians guilty of beating or sexually abusing women facing no recourse. Do as I say not as I do. Classic Marxism.
1
Jury of @JOSEPH pronounces guilt of Joe Biden bragging about ensuring corrupt Ukrainian leaves office.
And excuses the President's obvious enlistment of a foreign leader's aid in giving the President's A.G. something on the son of a political opponent. Reasoning for nothing-burger? Trump "...simply stated 3 sentences to look into Hunter Biden’s connection."
First, there is not confirmation of just 3 verbatim sentences in the released, so-called transcript. Second, the only thing simple is a rush to oversimplification and that can cut both ways. So, there's going to be an inquiry.
"Before long, #NotATranscript was trending on Twitter, as people recognized something fundamentally misleading in calling a document a “transcript” if it was not a verbatim record of what was said. But what’s behind this, and why does it matter?"
https://www.google.com/amp/s/qz.com/1717869/why-its-wrong-to-call-the-white-house-ukraine-memo-a-transcript/amp/
Now that Donald Trump has admitted to treason does the GOP crowd of gun loving retribution realize what the punishment actually is for that crime. The Atlantic reported last year that Representative Al Baldasaro, a state lawmaker and Trump fan in New Hampshire wanted Hillary Clinton shot for treason. Will they get cold feet when it is time for Trump to meet his fate?
1
I am amazed that people like McConnell, Barr, Graham, etc. don’t seem to understand or care that history will record them as enablers of one of the darkest figures in American history. The Republican Party has enabled this monster. Without them he could not do the damage he has done. Every Republican senator who votes to convict Trump when the time comes will earn a place in history that will allow their progeny to be proud of them rather than be ashamed of them. They should be thinking of this, but most people who survive to that level of politics have very little shame.
1
I generally agree with most of the sentiment of this opinion piece, but shouldn’t the headline more accurately read, “Convict the Malignant Fraudster”?
The impeachment is already occurring. This headline furthers the common misunderstanding that “impeach” equals “removal”.
Mr. Blow, I don't think you realize the kind of lowlifes you're dealing with. Trump and the GOP both had something to gain from their uneasy alliance, but it was purely business. Trump will be impeached in the House but the Senate will not convict; he will lose in 2020 and the GOP's reaction thereafter will be "Donald Trump? Who's Donald Trump?"
I've had a silly grin on my face since last Monday. For a week I've been spontaneously breaking out into uncontrollable small child giggles. I've honed my political instincts for over four decades. I hate to say it, but revenge — watching that pendulum swing back and take aim at the naked emperor — is sweet. To have lived through Watergate and this is almost enough to make me believe the universe is just.
Justice demands retribution from the enablers. An impeachment or conviction vote now will not atone for their sins. A simple vote does not signal a change of heart and will not undo the harm done to those caged and separated children, will not undo the legitimacy lent to white supremacy, will not in itself change the balance on the Supreme Court, will not make up for lost time in moving the US and the world away from a carbon-fueled economy ....
Blue tidal wave 2020!
Nixon's enablers didn't desert a blatantly criminal president until the eleventh hour, and then did so en masse. Politicians, by nature, read the polls of the folks back home, calculate the chances of their own survival and do what's expedient.
This time, let's also hope they rediscover, at long last, the true meaning of the constitutional oath they all took. Our democracy has been hijacked by a menacing, self-dealing demagogue, and they must help We the People get it back.
In removing the brazenly hateful Donald Trump and his malignant megalomania from the highest office in our land, partisanship is not what's relevant. Patriotism is.
Regarding your characterization of trump as a mere fraudster.
A fraudster is simply "a person who commits fraud, especially in business dealings."
Trump is several things vastly worse than a fraudster. The number and variety to choose from is a testament to his diligent criminality.
Please, as long as you're using "malignant", find it a more vile traveling partner than "fraudster"
Blow committed himself to the Trump resistance, by any means necessary, from the day of Trump's election.
His weekly Opinions, including this one, are marked by vitriolic rants intended to shout down and silence any reasoned discussion.
Angry, repetitive, loud shouting is the hallmark of propaganda.
2
“ The End, Of the Beginning.” - Sir Winston Churchill.
It’s a start. Finally.
1
Sadly, a large number of Democrat House and Senate members will certainly vote for impeachment, regardless of the facts. Trump was asking Ukraine to look into the hack during the 2016 election and Zelensky brought up the Bidens. There was no coverup or obstruction. We can only hope the the American people learn the truth despite the lies being spun by the media fraudsters; the shame of our nation.
1
This is exactly why a woman needs to be voted into the presidency seat, by the time a century goes by and maybe a woman could be as crooked as a man but hey we are talking about a hundred years and just think what a woman could do in that time.
1
With the help of his fellowmen/women, every American should learn simple "ethics of democracy" and then sort out right from the wrong!
Please keep America great!
Let us repeat--keep US great!!
Biden got the Ukrainian prosecutor fired because he was investigating Hunter Biden’s company.
That’s corruption.
And Trump was just tying to rectify that before giving millions more to Ukraine.
1
When a person voluntarily confess to an impeachable offense believe them. It is good for them, for you and in this case good for the country.
122
@Jena
Dems need to keep focused on ONE fact and keep repeating it when Republicans employ their "Triple D" strategy...Deny, Divert and Destroy.
The President of the United States admittedly violated the U.S. Constitution when he solicited a foreign power to interfere in our national election.
This a "High Crime" and a clear impeachable act.
10
@Jena
Thank you Maya Angelou....and Ms. Jena too.
2
If impeachment makes Donald Trump's reelection more likely, than it is an immoral act, regardless of what seems to be clear evidence that he deserves it. To save democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law, it's necessary to defeat Trump by the legal means that actually will work. I regret having to use such strong language, but I think it's necessary.
To all Republican Senators : Before you vote on impeaching Trump, think twice. You currently earn $174,000 per year (NOT including benefits like staff, office, travel,etc). If you do NOT get re-elected you will lose this salary and it will be difficult to make this kind of money (including the benefits you currently enjoy and the status that comes with it) in the private sector unless you are independently wealthy. It is a hefty price price to pay for voting against Trump. Your first duty is to put food on the table and the welfare of your own family. Considerations like the Oath to the Constitution, duty to our country, etc,etc. should all be secondary. So please vote accordingly.
3
After reading this article, it seems that it has generated a great deal of anxiety about what Senator McConnell would do if the house sends them articles of impeachment. He has no choice but to hold a trial. He has said so. The public outcry would be deafening if he didn’t.
1
The great Don gets away with everything because most of the US is afraid of him and many have been long before he became president. I believe I've seen it in his hometown newspaper since he started his campaign. Thus he controls the press to some extent.
The Don likes to sue those who oppose him. His long history of litigation has published by the NYT. If I recall in excess of 3,000 legal actions when he was running before the last election.
Republicans are afraid of him bc of his vicious vengeful style. His attack mode is so gross and low-down that the GOP will do anything to stay out of his crosshairs.
Redemption is out of the question when survival means laying low and keeping mum.They're quite willing to forfeit all of what's left of their integrity and go down with the ship rather than rock the boat trying to disembark before the curtain call.
Thus the end of the old GOP is assured it appears.Our young people will landslide them out of office next year and maybe the biggest issue to catalyze this movement is climate change. It is a snowballing concern capturing a great deal of attention and activism. It is the overriding momentum of this cause that will carry the day.
Impeachment process will reveal just how lost the GOP has become. Adrift; in it's utter abandonment of each members sworn duty to defend and uphold the US Consitution. The party's moral compass is broken and it struggles mightily to explain that away. What a spectacle.
8
Mr. Blow raised an interesting question. What if the House passed a bill of impeachment and then Moscow Mitch refused to open the trial in the Senate? Would the Constitution and rule of law provide a response against McConnell for that unprecedented and outrageous act in violation of the Constitution?
3
It's disingenuous to claim that Trump has confessed to the central allegation. Whether Trump committed a crime or not turns not on whether he had someone look into Biden's dealings in the Ukraine (he admitted he did that), it turns on what his intent was in doing so (he claims an innocent intent in doing so and thus has "confessed" to nothing). If Trump believed Biden may have committed a crime, he's not only permitted by law to investigate, it's one of his duties as commander in chief. We may not believe that Trump actually believed that. We may instead believe that Trump knew Biden was clean as a whistle. Was he? I don't know and neither do you. That's why Trump walks away from this thing. Similarly, one could ask, why did President Obama sit by while his administration was tapping the phones of people in the Trump campaign? Did he really believe Trump was in cahoots with the Russians or was he permitting an unlawful fishing expedition because he wanted to preserve his legacy by installing someone who promised to continue with a similar agenda rather than permitting the outsider to come in and completely disrupt his life's work? I suspect the intent was closer to the latter, but I'm not a mind reader, and I only get the facts that bunch of partisans want me to have. I can read conservative and liberal publications in the hopes of getting something closer to the truth, but what our elected representatives are up to is largely a mystery to everyone.
3
sadly, I hear the conservative media you read. The investigation undertaken during the Obama administration of Russian contacts by people in the Trump campaign was not only above board. it was required. Why did Obama "stand by"? That was his job.
in the same way, while you might succeed at believing Trump was interested in getting Ukraine to investigate Biden out of a concern about corruption (although his accusation had already been investigated and disproved), holding back funds voted by Congress to force Ukraine to do is not lawful or ethical, and since Biden was his likely political opponent, all ethics went out the window.
1
Trump has admitted nothing? In other words, the old “Yes, I shot that man because he deserved it, and I’d do it again” defense?
1
Bob
Not sure where you’re going with these comments, but your attempt to smear Obama by claiming he approved wiretapping of Trump campaign staff like Manafort is, well, propaganda. If you recall, in March 2017 there was bipartisan rejection of this Trump trope; Senate Intelligence Chair Richard Burr and Ranking Member Mark Warner - and yes, even House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunez all said they had seen no evidence of any such actions at Trump Tower. You and others can find video of their comments on YouTube; don’t rely on any source you’d consider “fake news.”
You seek to fold this into your narrative as though it’s fact, but I’m not buying it. Yet so much of this tactic from the right these days that some on the left are actually trying it on for size. Lose-lose for our country.
1
Republicans do have principles.
They are committed to the principle of getting elected at all cost, to the principle of staying in office at all cost, to enriching themselves as much as possible while in office, to pass legislation that benefits themselves financially and then sets themselves up in business when they choose to leave office. And to the principle that they make their tax-deductible contributions to the next generation of Republicans that live by the same principles.
13
The facts are so clearly established, and the preceeding acts of extortion may further infuriate the voters, such that only fools and diehard Republican senators will be willing to face the public in the next general election. A conviction and expulsion from office should not be discounted.
5
I do not care about "redemption for Republicans". They have chosen their path, their captain and must go down with the ship.
Political expediency will rule their actions. If Trump becomes a wart on the body of republicanism, they might try to move away and we must not let them. They bought him, they paid for him and they can not, should not, try to return him.
The entire Trump Party needs to be shown that the majority of Americans do not want hate, division and cruelty in their government. We want justice and equality for all. We want free and open and fair elections, clean water and air, a living wage, affordable housing and healthcare and education. These are just a few of the things we want in our daily lives.
We want a POTUS who does not lie like breathing.
We need to repudiate them ALL at the ballot box. And therein lies the problem. Hope is our only comfort right now that we will care enough to turn out in the numbers required.
424
@Elizabeth
As Stalin definitely did not say (contrary to the meme), it’s not who votes that counts, it’s who counts the votes.
11
Trump has finally shot someone on Fifth Avenue. And we predicted the Republican response. Trump’s gun fired blanks. The person was actually killed by someone firing from a window. We know that the gunman was a Democrat.
6
The Republicans in the Senate may be beyond redemption, but if they fail to act, the voters will have their say just a few months later--and not just about the president.
571
@M.I wish what you say were so, but through enculturation and gerrymandering, we have representatives from districts and states where they will never be unseated. Mitch McConnell is the prime example. Because of the culture of Kentucky and the rules of the Senate, he rules supreme. The entire nation must live with the dictates of a man elected from a state that is dominated by views not shared by the majority of the country's voters. Like Trump, he and his wife have used taxpayers' money and even foreign money to hold power. It is their country; the rest of just pay taxes.
19
I wish everyone would cut and paste this comment and others like it a flood your Republican MoC’s office. Hate to surprise them In Nov 2020.
Tell them to wake up and listen to We the People, not the sycophants that surround them.
3
I believe that is of the utmost importance that every scrap of paper, every email, every letter, every memorandum, every financial document, every computer disc, every video, every audio recording gathered by Congress for use in the impeachment hearings be carefully preserved and protected for use by scholars and future generations of Americans.
With luck and G-d’s great help, these past 2 ½ years may turn out to be the first and last time this country will ever come close to transforming itself into a One Party country run by a Dictator.
Americans of the future will need to have the necessary materials available to them to understand how and why it happened, and how to prevent it from ever happening again.
746
@A. Stanton The House needs to get the notes Trump took away from the translator when Trump met privately with Putin. Trump made the translator hand over the notes and told him/her not to tell anybody what was said between him and Putin. Now, why would that be?
136
@Linda
I can say without a doubt that the translator re-wrote her own notes and has them in a safe place.
It's bad. Very bad. The unraveling of this Presidency has begun, and none too soon. The Republicans will obstruct, and will lose. They have played dead for too long; cowering and whimpering on Fox News. Courage takes practice.
43
@A. Stanton
I'm afraid I see this getting worse before it gets better.
Most people haven't been affected. They STILL aren't paying attention.
22
The more I contemplate McConnell refusing to even hold an impeachment trial, the more appealing that idea sounds. If impeachment articles are leveled and never tried, Trump’s crimes are never adjudicated, thus, he’s never found innocent. With the charges just suspended over him throughout the 2020 campaign, Dems avoid the negative consequences of a trial in the Senate interrupting their campaigning, allowing them to focus on issues the electorate insists on instead.
I never imagined any time or circumstance I would be thanking Moscow Mitch for anything, but this could be it. We live in strange times.
1
@Sie, you may be right, but trump is a master of the ‘poor me, I’m such a victim, nobody in the history of the universe has been mistreated as much as I have .... ‘. Enough people will buy that, and project his own ‘mistreatment’ onto themselves. Feeling abused, they will vote for him.
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for always speaking the truth to power. I continue to pray that justice will be done and that God will forgive us for the myriad parts we have played as a nation in unleashing this monster.
4
Amazing. You write beautifully and eloquently, Mr. Blow. I hope we survive these dark times and that in the near future you will be able to write about things more serene where the topic of your writing will not stand between me and the true joy of reading your words.
5
Trump and his defenders don't want us to believe our lying eyes. All of us, including Republicans, had better smarten up and believe what we see, not what we hear, or we won't be able to keep our republic.
1
Please everyone can we put country before party? Ask yourselves if Obama did these acts, where would he be? Why should the bar be different here? Surely, the GOP have an upstanding candidate to replace him. Either way, he will ultimately be gone either for the senate or SDNY to contend with. Thereafter, the question is where will we, our nation be? What road do we want? I want a road where our reputation is rebuilt, our allies are respected and our enemies are at bay. These policies of greed, inhumanity, division and planet destruction only gets us to an inferno.
5
Mr Blow and others have raised the question whether McConnell would even allow a trial should the House pass impeachment. Whatever one might think of him, and my feelings are not friendly to him, ask yourself if McConnell would hand the Democrats a massive hammer to attack Republicans in general and himself in particular in his bid for re-election. A failure to hold the trial would be just that. Democrats could say, “ The evidence is so bad, the Trial would destroy not only Trump but the whole party!” “McConnell knows half the Republicans in the Senate were going to vote guilty!” “He’s too scared to hold the trial!” “ what’s he hiding?” And so forth. Unless of course it appears that Trump is going down...in which case McConnell would be desperately trying to get ahead of the crowd!
I do not see the net benefit in not holding the trial.
1
I thought the title was odd but after a half-second I got a solid inner titter out of it, so good job.
Mr. Blow, do you think that those GOP senators whose re-election doesn't come up until after 2020 might show some courage? or moral conviction?
Here in NC, Thom Tillis wrote a somewhat scathing op-ed piece in the Times, then realizing his base was displeased, flipped.
I assume there are others in a similar situation. But then, there are those like Romney, who has another four years to go before he faces the electorate, who really could stand up and shout about how evil Trump is.
Is it just greed and the lust for power that is holding those Class IV senators from doing the right thing?
3
The scariest part of this whole mess is that Mitch McConnell may have the ability to block a trial in the Senate. Can this really be true?
2
The notion of impeaching a president — any president — on the basis of a political disagreement is unconscionable, or should be. Yet we have watched Democrats and the media scurry from one “impeachable” offense to another over the last three years, hoping that one might stick. It has all the appearance of being a punishment in search of a crime to justify it.
So now we come to WhistleblowerGate and the Ukrainian corruption scandal. Let me see if I have this right: We are going to impeach President Trump because he asked the Ukrainian president to look into allegations of corruption involving a former vice president of the United States — and possibly a former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. You would think we would all want to know if there was anything to the complaint against Joe Biden for pressuring Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who had oversight of the investigation of Biden’s son Hunter. Likewise, it is reasonable to think that if the Deep State coup against President Trump in 2016 had an outpost in the Ukraine, we would like to know that too. By staking an impeachment claim on the phone call President Trump held with the Ukrainian president, the Democrats in Congress are essentially declaring that the president doesn’t have the power to negotiate with foreign leaders, he does not have authority as commander-in-chief to make deals.But that describes a world that doesn’t exist, There is a document called the Constitution.
2
4 Play
Lost me at Deep State. Can’t take these comments seriously.
@Just4Play,
Trump withheld approved aid to Ukraine until this “do me a favor, though” phone call. And offered the “help” of the U.S. Justice Department. He did this to dig up -or create - negative information on a political opponent who, polls show, could easily beat him next year. That is illegal, plain and simple. And yes, we do have a Constitution. That’s why the House is investigating. In fact, the Democrats let him get away with numerous incidents of cooperation/collusion and obstruction of justice detailed in the Mueller Report. As you probably already know, Trump, believing he got away with the Russia mess, made the call to Zelensky the very next day after Mueller appeared in Congress.
A few last things. The former Ukrainian prosecutor who is at the center of this incident was removed from office after a vote in Ukraine’s Parliament. Biden was not responsible. Hunter Biden, who probably should have worked somewhere else, admittedly, was not part of the investigation of the gas company. And if that’s what bothers you, think of WH staffer Ivanka’s numerous patent approvals in China. Think of the Air Force, Mike Pence & countless others paying to stay at Trump properties, profits of which which go into the president’s bank account. That’s another impeachable offense.
Surely there’s another conservative or right-winger out there you might like who hasn’t broken our laws?
What's the downside for Republicans if they abandon Trump? Will Republican voters vote Democratic? Not likely. More likely they will stay home. Causing the shift back to the Democrats. For a period of time. Republicans have an agenda and they will swallow their pride, cough up Trump and spit him out and look to more conventional and less unpalatable candidates to pursue their goals. At some point they have to see that to continue to fish they simply have to cut the line attached to the unruly specimen that is dragging the boat away from the prime fishing grounds.
In the spring of 2014, Hunter Biden joined the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian gas company that was at the center of a U.K. money laundering probe. Over the next year, Burisma reportedly paid Biden’s company (Rosemont Seneca Bohai LLC) over $3 million, and provided Biden a salary of up to $50,000 a month. During the same time period, Joe Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in American loan guarantees to Ukraine unless it fires its lead prosecutor who was investigating wrongdoing at Burisma, raising questions from critics about whether this was related to his son’s position at the gas company.
So, it seems that Joe Biden used his position as Vice President to pressure Ukraine to end its investigation of Burisma, while Trump later used to his position as President to pressure Ukraine to continue its investigation of Burisma. Both men likely committed the same relatively minor crime, but the media has joined the Democrats in demanding impeachment for Trump while doing their best to protect Biden and depict him as an innocent victim.
3
I recently retired to South Carolina to live by the sea. Unfortunately, that also meant trading my moderate Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar for (I don't even have the adjectives to describe him) Lindsey Graham. He has clearly traded his soul for something, but I can't imagine what. He was one of the first to call out Trump's lunacy while he was still on the campaign trail, and then he became Trump's Sychophant in Chief. What?!
5
Every day he’s in office Trump finds new was to endanger the security of the United States and its allies. At this point he remains in office solely because of the cowardice and complicity of congressional Republicans.
2
The party of Lincoln ought to be known, in this day and age, as a party committed to a few decent ideals, rather than the party of trickle down economics, or Trump enablers; well done, Charles! And, one would hope that any Republican senator with a daughter might conclude that he or she would have answered the door with a shotgun in hand had Trump taken her to the prom, while mouthing the words, "Out of my cold, dead hands!"
Donald Trump has had many opportunities, three years' worth now as president, to rise above his instinctive gutter-like behavior and be "so presidential," has he once promised to be.
He could have done so, maintaining his followers while setting a more noble example of what principled leadership can be. He has, repeatedly, chosen not to do so.
Republicans, long espousing morality, law and order, sacred principle and Constitutional imperatives, could have supported his policies and perhaps distanced themselves from his persona while hewing to those fundamentals they purport to hold dear. Through his behavior, Trump removed the latter as a possibility, striking fear and hypocrisy in the hearts of his party faithful.
Yes, Trump is a malignant fraudster. Those of us who observed him at close range for many years in New York, already knew that well. To us, it isn't news.
But what might be news is that the Republican Party, once the self-portrayed purveyor of morality and principle, has been outed as a malignant fraudster as well, and its denizens as chameleon-like posers who only talk the talk while not even coming close to walking it.
Trump and today's GOP were made for each other. That is plain for all to see. It will no longer be possible for the party to hide behind a cloak of righteousness, as it long presumed to do. It has forsaken what it presented as its heritage, in obeisance to a malignant fraudster whose abject malignancy has proven to be contagious.
1
The notion of impeaching a president — any president — on the basis of a political disagreement is unconscionable, or should be. Yet we have watched Democrats and the media scurry from one “impeachable” offense to another over the last three years, hoping that one might stick. It has all the appearance of being a punishment in search of a crime to justify it.
So now we come to WhistleblowerGate and the Ukrainian corruption scandal. Let me see if I have this right: We are going to impeach President Trump because he asked the Ukrainian president to look into allegations of corruption involving a former vice president of the United States — and possibly a former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. You would think we would all want to know if there was anything to the complaint against Joe Biden for pressuring Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who had oversight of the investigation of Biden’s son Hunter. Likewise, it is reasonable to think that if the Deep State coup against President Trump in 2016 had an outpost in the Ukraine, we would like to know that too. By staking an impeachment claim on the phone call President Trump held with the Ukrainian president, the Democrats in Congress are essentially declaring that the president doesn’t have the power to negotiate with foreign leaders, he does not have authority as commander-in-chief to make deals.But that describes a world that doesn’t exist, There is a document called the Constitution.
1
Whomever this Republican, or Republicans may be it is almost certain that they will not be the household names we are used to.
Graham, Jim Jordon and their ilk are totally lost causes. They have no integrity or character between them.
The only known names I could see stepping forward would be Romney, Ernst, Sasse, Collins. or, as CRAZY as it sounds, McConnell if he felt Pence was untainted enough to stay in office.
McConnell is totally craven and lusts deeply after power. If he sees Trump dragging down the entire GOP, he just might do something – for all the wrong reasons of course.
And now Trump screams to meet his accuser. The whistle blower laws prevent that. The facts will do fine.
But the behavior of Trump and his followers shows just how nervous and desperate they finally are.
Redemption? Not quite... after stealing a Supreme Court seat, standing in the way of decent health care, starting a war based on lies (this is the abbreviated list), it will take quite a bit more than impeachment to redeem the Republicans.
1
Well we are possibly on our way to ridding ourselves of this degenerate.
I will not delude myself for one moment by thinking that if this ever reaches the floor of the Senate that those sycophants would ever vote to remove the degenerate. Also there is the possibility from what I understand, is that Moscow Mitch McConnell can even prevent this from coming to a vote.
My hope is that enough people will pay attention to these proceedings, become aware of what this villain had done to our country, and run him, and his gang out of town .
2
It is wrong of you, Mr. Blow, to dangle the carrot of redemption in front of such completely lost souls. Redemption is not that easy. Republicans are the people that put him there. Just getting rid of him now won’t fix the damage - think about the Supreme Court. What could possibly redeem Mitch McConnell?
1
We live in a post Watergate world. The scales fell from people's eyes during Watergate. They learned the people in charge were not to be trusted. Many people still followed the rules as they'd been taught and Nixon resigned because no matter what, he believed in the US and he was doing what he thought was right. Trump has no such compunction. He does what's right for Trump and the rest be hanged. He will never resign.
The people enabling Trump are children of that revolution. Both the electorate and the elected. They have no rules. They have no morals because their leaders had none. They do what is right for them, just like Trump. Nothing has meaning unless it affects them personally. No one else matters.
If you expect anyone to change their mind because of this, you are wrong. What Donald Trump and the Republicans in congress are has been evident for decades.
Anyone still supporting them will never change. They've already eaten too much dirt to ever clean their face again. They no longer grasp the moral implications or right from wrong. They are the problem. And the only solution is to force them into a corner where they can do no more damage. And take back our world.
2
I suspect that Moscow Mitch owes as many IOU's to Putin as Trump does. He will never start a trial of Trump. I agree with Mr. Blow that a conviction of Trump will never occur. I do hope that the voters in 2020 will be so repulsed by this that they vote out most of Trump's enablers (e.g. Lindsey Graham...Does Trump have photos of Graham in bed with a young .....? that he is using to keep McCains "never Trump" BFF in line?).
2
You're correct Charles but the answer to your question how many Republican Senators will seize the opportunity to stand up for the Constitution is........zero.
They're in lockstep with Trump and married to him for better or worse. There won't be a divorce.
All republican “lawmakers” are too drunk on power to get in the way of trump now. They’re as astonished and gratified as trump is that the runaway train of his awfulness has not yet derailed, and that there seems to be no way to derail it.
And all this as they see the “wins” pile up: tax cuts, regulatory rollbacks, partisan judges, and a rabid, committed, immovable base.
No, trump could openly fantasize about their wives and daughters and they’d thank him and kiss his shoes.
1
Trump’s corrupted and criminal ways have survived because dirty money rules politics, and because Trump has delivered to his lobbyist supporters - Alaska is up for grabs now, for instance. “Moscow Mitch” is also getting rich.
In addition there are now two “ conservative” SCOTUS appointments, as well as voter restrictions, NRA unending support, the give away of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, the withdrawal of the Iran nuclear treaty to the demonizing and racializing of Central American refugees - which serves two purposes: to obfuscate “vulture capitalists ‘“ responsibility for destroying the economy and middle class as well as to support the trope for the need for border defense walls when tech and investment could work better. But, it also serves to excuse the Palestinian occupation, and now almost de facto land grab. So, its no coincidence that billionaire donors like Sheldon Adelson, Stephen Ross and Ronald Lauder are financing Trump’s re-election.
Impeachment, notwithstanding the tangible and incredible evidence is not a sure thing, unless public disgust overrides dirty money. Congress is hostage to dirty money, and on cable TV and media in general, we already see a list of “experts” and/ or former “government officials” interviewing each other, thus massaging the message. It worked for the Mueller investigation of which nothing else has been said. The institutional meritocratic Kleptocracy will end as is often the case, badly.
Unfortunately, impeachment, even if successful, will not get the job done. The only true, lasting and essential way to save our democracy from even more rapid destruction is by voting it out.
An illegitimate president must be removed through a legitimate election. That's what got us here in the first place. It's that simple. It's that difficult. It's that vital.
Vote.
4
Does Trump's action with Ukraine merit removal from office..?? that is the real question. And reasonable people can disagree on this.. I'm no fan of Trump, but I do not feel he should be removed from office because of his transgression with Ukraine..
---To me, this incident does not merit removal from office..perhaps some lesser punishment.
-Does this make me immoral or unpatriotic... Hardly
1
@mike, well, the Constitution disagrees with your opinion. It is against the law to solicit a foreign gov't for personal favors, and I'm surprised you don't get that. If it was, as you say, a 'transgression', then why shouldn't we call him on it? Impeachment does not necessarily mean removal from office, see: Clinton, Bill.
The legal remedy for presidential malfeasance like this is impeachment via Congress. That's the law. You may not be 'immoral or unpatriotic', but that IS lazy citizenship. Just letting your elected officials get away with spitting on our system of government? Who else would get your shrugging acceptance?
There are many laws to keep people from committing crimes. It's not up to you to say who gets away with it and who gets punished. The law is there for a reason. Why WOULDN'T we follow our Constitution, Mike?
1
According to the NYT Daily podcast from several months ago, Trump very likely owes Deutsche Bank 3 billion dollars. I haven't heard any follow-up to this although bank officers were suppose to be subpoenaed. Did Putin or his oligarchs pay off the loan? Has anyone seen more information on this?
3
George W. Bush: this is your moment. Speak now, tell the nation what you know - that Donald Trump is unfit to be President. Your leadership would give other Republicans the cover they crave to say what they, too, know to be true. Doing this would redeem your place in history.
3
Why did so many of us Vote for and endorse such a divisive person enabling him to become President? What is wrong with us ??
1
Very few Republicans will abandon Trump for the truth. Actually, they couldn't care less about the truth. They only care about votes.
There is only one way to break the stranglehold Trump has and that is by convincing enough people to vote him out of office, and, to flip the Senate to Democratic control. That is the end game here.
Trump will not be convicted by the Senate. But a devastating exposure of his wrongdoings, complete with hard evidence and eyewitness testimony may be just enough to remove him from office in 2020. This may be a better pathway because Pence will just pardon him and his accomplices, and we would be stuck with Pence for year.
Keep in mind that Trump has never been associated with the truth in any way his entire life. Everything he has ever done was a shakedown, a ruse, a con. The truth will never set him free but it could set enough voters free to get rid of Trump.
Because of Trump's wholesale abandonment of the truth and the onslaught of lies and propaganda from right wing media, there is really no way to show the world Trump's crimes, other than through impeachment. Trump has forced the Democrats into impeachment because he has utterly destroyed all other normal channels of checks and balances. He has painted law enforcement as being deep state enemies. He has the Justice Dept. in his pocket with Barr. He has brainwashed millions into believing everything he says, no matter how bizarre. It's on now.
8
Don't bet on it Mr. Blow.These GOP Senate and House members worship hanging on to their seats, not their duty to preserve and protect our Constitution from the domestic enemy that is, God help us, the President.
1
It's something like 91% of Republicans don't care about this, and think Trump is just aces.
Redemption?
1
Yes, he is betraying our Constitution and his oath of office. He's also accustomed to facing no consequences for brazen behaviors through his life. It will be a struggle between the allure of white supremacy and the integrity of our Constitution. The loyalty of Republicans to the former is historically stronger than to the latter and their support therefore unlikely.
1
Thank you yet again, Mr. Blow, for your strident eloquence. To add a note, if I may, the Trump Administration, under the tender guidance of one Stephen Miller, has been kidnapping immigrant children for months, separating families despite a court order to block the practice, and moving these children around the country to God knows where.
Why have these atrocities not been considered immediately impeachable? I understand they are on the list in Congress of dozens of potential charges against Trump, but why aren’t these unlawful, cruel and shameful practices being stopped by someone, anyone!in our government? Where are these immigrant children? In for-profit centers and camps scattered throughout the country, their supervision heavily guarded. Who is monitoring the basic care of the children, of their families?
And in a potentially related matter ... with reference to the sickening article in today’s New York Times about the millions of online pornographic images of children being abused and tortured, where are these immigrant children?
“The truth is that many will likely allow the polls to dictate their decision on impeachment. Their ethics are transactional.”
I think the Republicans will be watching the stance taken by the “talking heads” at Fox and other right wing media outlets, even more closely than the polls. Sean Hannity’s diatribe against the Democrats and the impeachment had 3.9 million viewers last week and I believe that the GOP politicians are more sensitive to the winds (hot air) blowing from the likes of Hannity and Carlson than the pollsters.
Trump will be more flexible with the Ukraine after the election. He's following obvious, traceable footsteps.
According to Jeff Flake, at least 35 (70%) GOP Senators would vote to convict if Trump is impeached - but only if they could vote anonymously. The Cult of Trump has struck fear in the majority of Republicans in Congress; for we can assume a similar trend in the House regarding an impeachment vote.
Could they be more cowardly? Haven't they noticed that nothing good has ever come from allegiance to Trump?
G.O.P. = Greed Over Principle
As always, well said Mr. Blow. This is, indeed, a measure of
congressional conviction and belief our constitution.
1
“There must be some patriots, at least a handful, in the Republican Party. There must be some who have the courage — the guts! “
Here’s looking at you, Senator Collins. Margaret Chase Smith is watching, waiting in eager expectation.
Biden used American money to get a prosecutor fired whose scope included investigation Biden's son was on the board of. It could be that had nothing to do with using American funds to get him fired but to me if certainly gives the appearance of impropriety.
With regard to Trump, he did not ask for election or political help. He's ask to investigate an issue. That issue involved use of American money to get a prosecutor fired. We have a treaty with the Ukraine where we exchange investigation information.
We can only guess if Bidens presidential aspirations had anything to do with the call just as we can only guess if Biden had a motivation to fire the prosecutor relative to his son.
The President shouldn't have to ask for information from the Ukraine. Our own congressional oversight and DOJ should be doing that.
What experience does Biden's son have in the energy industry? What motivations do foreign countries/ nationals have in doing business with a Vice President's son. Shouldn't acongression committee at least interview Biden, his son, the Ukraine prosecutor and others familiar to the matter in the interest of clearing this all up?
Maybe the firing had no relation to Biden's son but it sure looks bad to me.
Also, does the title of the article imply any bias or lack of impartiality? Was the Obama admin justified in investigating Presient Trump?
All true, Mr. Blow. I would only hair-split a little: Trump doesn't have a stranglehold on the Republican Party. Each member is an individual, and is strangling him- or herself.
"Trump’s bill has come due."
After a lifetime of stiffing contractors, employees, scams, discrimination, lies, etc.
The professional conman may finally receive an invoice he must pay.
Important summary of a tragic man who has dragged us through his disgraceful thinking for YEARS. His problems now are definitely of his OWN making!
The current generation of Republicans believe that government is evil and should be demolished only to the point where it actively serves corporate interests or American oligarches.
It wasn't always this way or this crass. Bipartisanship wasn't always a joke.
Thus, today's Republicans haven't any sense or belief in true public service. I don't have any hope that Republicans will stand up for American principles. Alas, they have already demonstrated their willingness to sell out their own country. Even Ronald Reagan is turning in his grave.
If the American public significantly turns upon this Fake President during the course of the House’s impeachment hearings, based upon the emergence of credible, corroborated, and highly incriminating evidence against Trump, then and only then will Republicans belatedly acquire some “spine”, a/k/a the palpable fear of the end of their own political careers. From that revelatory time months ago when these shameless, unprincipled hacks sat on their hands while Trump verbally trashed colleague and war hero John McCain, right up to the present, they have repeatedly exhibited only a craven love of power, not country. At this late date that fear, not the emergence of any integrity, still is their only motivating factor.
Republicans are not going to redeem themselves. Republicans are not going to repudiate Trump.
You talk about Trump like he's some extreme Republican outlier. In fact Trump is perfectly contiguous with the Republican continuum.
Republicans are the party of the gerrymander, the electoral collage, or voter suppression, of voting machine tampering. Do you really believe that the people who are fine with all of this, are going to abandon Trump because he tried to shake down a foreign head of state for ginned up slander about a political opponent? How much did the Mueller Report disturb Republicans. Not a wit!
Republicans have zero interest in maintaining a Constitutional democracy. And they're proud of it. You're a good man, Mr. Blow. Please stop engaging in futile fantasies.
All they need to do is employ a version of Trump's own situational "ethics", ask themselves "What's in it for me?", and proceed to throw him under the bus. How could he hypocritically complain about the actions of those who'd do precisely what he'd have done in their place?
1
Redeem themselves?! Get real. The money is too good for Republicans in the Reagan Restoration.
(And for a lot of complicit Democratic "centrists," too, let's be honest.)
This is simple, republicans will stand for whatever is best for them at the moment irregardless of fact, reality or morality. Trump for the moment is their man, once he becomes a clear malignant cancer to the party they will abandon faster than a shooting star and claim that they were never truly with him. The parasite Graham is a perfect example, he changes host bodies as often as needed to survive.
1
The narrative being put-forth by patriotic American citizens is greatly complicating the usual barrier-free paths to the brimming slops-trough and the routine feeding frenzies. It seems somehow that it will become more and more difficult to maintain one's elevated status as a repugnant-can't in these difficult and tricky days. How unfair!
But, I refuse to believe that the totality of the Republican Party system is corrupt beyond the possibility of contrition, that every single Republican senator would turn their backs on the country. Call me But, I refuse to believe that the totality of the Republican Party system is corrupt beyond the possibility of contrition, that every single Republican senator would turn their backs on the country. Call me naïve. Or, call me hopeful for the future of the country.. Or, call me hopeful for the future of the country.
______________
naïve
" I’m looking at you, Lindsey Graham."
So am I... because his astonishing inside-out in just the last two or three years is so entirely revealing of the quality of Trump's support.
Henceforth & for good: Forget Lindsey Graham.
1
Although I deeply admire and appreciate Charles Blow and have been reading his column for years, I wish I could say that I am hopeful as to the redemption of the Republicans. However, given their wretched actions during the past several years, I doubt that Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Maine’s Susan Collins and the rest of these morally bankrupt individuals will do anything but lie down and roll over when and if it comes time to defend the Constitution and their country. Of course, there is always a possibility, slim though it might be, but in the meantime, I am certainly not about to hold my breath.
Time and time again, with very few exceptions, we have seen how this pathetic gang always defends the depraved and malignant narcissist in the White House. In private many of them have expressed their extreme dislike for Trump who is not only corrupt to the core, but he is, in many ways, clearly unfit for the office he holds. Yet and still, I’ll be extremely shocked if any of them has the moral fiber to take a stand against Trump and the criminal enterprise he is running out of the Oval Office.
From the very beginning, Trump has consistantly drawn attention to himself. But if any of that attention is negative on any level, his go to responses are "deep state" this, and "fake media" that, rhetoric. All the while claiming to be the most "transparent" administration ever despite their actions clearly indicating the opposite is much closer to the truth. It is HIS actions that have brought about the impeachment inquiry, no one else's! Too many lies told, too many instances of his actions being completely self serving, and too many examples of blaming other's for his own actions are childish acts that are tiresome to adult minded Americans. America's debt is growing at an outrageous pace, and our integrity is at an all time low due to Trump and his administration. Trump's penchant for bankruptcies, financially and ethically, has resulted in the depletion of American pride among the majority of citizens. I don't believe America can afford another 4 years of clown control in the WH without serious and permanent damage for generations to come...
2
I, too, am puzzled by how few Republicans are speaking up. I just cannot believe that they are all cut from the same cloth, that they are all in awe/fear of or admire this sorry excuse for a leader. Nor can I countenance that the voters that support them feel, in their heart of hearts, that this man is good for the nation. So what is it? Will they continue to vote their party despite what they can see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears, from his mouth, which has nothing to do with the media that parse his effluence? Are they so comfortable – in the case of the wealthy, or so hopeful – in the case of the have-nots? I do not see any Democratic candidates that are ‘perfect’, they all have their flaws and drawbacks, but put all of their shortcomings together and they are not even within shooting distance of his defects and lies. Wake up Republicans, if you don’t step up soon, your party is doomed.
Maybe we have had it wrong all along. It seems that Trump hasn’t been lying. He believes everything he has said is true, which is far more dangerous. Sincerely believing his narratives, Trump is very convincing to his base and the rest of the Republican Party. Trump relates a world full of Democrat evil that has caused a pervasive rot in American society. Since he is their president, this man who couldn’t sell steaks or water or run a casino, has become their purveyor of preferred facts along with Fox News. To accept the possibility he is a self serving criminal Trump’s Republican supporters would have to leave their preferred reality and accept the notion that they have been scammed.
Republicans are as likely to turn on Trump as Trump is to quietly resign for the good of the nation.
Most Republican s I talk to are very defensive supporting Trump and refuse to discuss him, saying the Democrats are worse with no proof or conviction.
It is embarrassing living in a country where the tyranny of the minority has no morals, only corrupt principles.
1
While I have nothing against impeachment, per se, and I would love nothing more than to see Trump get the perp walk out of the White House (in handcuffs would be delicious), that said, don't you think it's a little too little too late at this juncture? I mean, we are practically in an election year. Let the voters decide at this point. I would still keep investigating this crook and hopefully after he is thrown out of office, which by the way, would be way more of an insult and punishment to his ego than having a bunch of partisan Democrats do it, at which time Trump would just play the victim and martyr to his base. Besides, do we really want Pence sitting in the Oval Office?
It's a nice fantasy to "refuse to believe that the totality of the Republican Party system is corrupt beyond the possibility of contrition"
But it is just that, a fantasy. Conservatives are corrupt to the core.
Republican aren't going to seize redemption judging from Graham today on Face the Nation. Graham emphatic it's "hearsay' insisting you can't get a parking ticket on hearsay--These cowardly Republicans should be issuing parking tickets instead of representing Americans as sworn members of Congress who took oaths to uphold the Constitution
You hear that? That is the sound of heels digging in lockstep behind the ring leader. Dems should stop getting too overconfident. We all know how that worked out last time.
Kevin McCarthy's stumbling on 60 Minutes captures the GOP's absence quite fully. He had nothing to say, just zip, zero, nada.
1
"Call me naïve. "
You are being naive. Every single GOP senator has already turned on the country.
One more point: It is wrong to compare trump to Nixon except that both craved approval. Nixon hated that the nation's intelligentsia did not like him. BUT, unlike trump, Nixon was very intelligent and his Presidency accomplished some amazing things for our country, like creating the EPA, the SALT talks with the Soviets, opening up to China, the war on cancer, to name a few. (I am not a fan of Nixon but facts are facts). In contrast, trump has done nothing positive for our country, apart from showing us the shameful toadism of the GOP.
1
Don't hold your breath, Charles. There will be precious few GOP senators voting for conviction. There might be enough for a bare majority. That is all. The only consolation - such as it is - is that those with a sliver of conscience will never enjoy a good night's sleep again. May they reap what they sow,
In my lifetime of experience I have learned that some things just do not go togeather, kind of like oil and water, except this is in regard to human behavior. The following is a list of those things. Republicans, followed by any of the following words: redemption, honesty, accountability, reason and the furthest removed, COMPASSION and EMPATHY.
Problem us they gave a plausible slightly counternarrative. I want Biden under oath to say if his lovely son spoke to him about the prosecutor. Because they allege that is what the son was paid for.
The Democrats are still operating with the belief that they are inside a functional government. The Republicans who support Trump are not. Watch FOX news and read rightwing blogs.
In a functional government, a president who thought that a former vice president was doing something unlawful in a foreign country would tell a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community.
But Trump’s entire narrative is that he can’t trust his own intelligence community. Not the CIA or the FBI or the military. Furthermore, the Trump platform is that nothing belonging to the establishment of the United States is trustworthy. Not major media organizations. Not major universities. Not major corporations.
Trump’s whole shtick is that the U.S, has been taken over by liberal zombies, that he alone is the Messiah anointed by God himself to save the nation, and that many long-time institutions should be destroyed.
Trump is a Trojan horse leader intent on overthrow. That is precisely why Republican politicians who have fallen for this very scary garbage are standing by him.
The Democrats can’t act as if this is normal rough-and-tumble partisan politics. This is the kind of weirdness that leads to civil war or societal collapse because the President is attacking the foundations of the nation.
We have to go beyond the issue of the moment and talk about the big picture—how we are being encouraged to distrust and fear not only each other, but the core institutions of the United States of America.
2
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Martin Luther King.
I sure hope so.
I am surprised that I am not reading and hearing more this morning about the fact that the "president" threatened civil war last night. I figured it was a matter of time before he encouraged violence, but where is the outrage?
6
"But, I refuse to believe that the totality of the Republican Party system is corrupt beyond the possibility of contrition, that every single Republican senator would turn their backs on the country. Call me naïve. Or, call me hopeful for the future of the country."
Unfortunately... NAIVE. Not a single patriot in the motley crew.
1
Rats don’t ‘decide’ to leave a sinking sink; rather, the ship decides for them, as it plunges under water.
The Republicans will have no choice but to swim for open water. It won’t be pretty, and distinctions of rank, such as VP or Majority Leader, will matter little.
"Trump’s bill has come due. Impeachment is in the offing. The Democrats must impeach this malignant fraudster. They don’t really have a choice. There is no off-ramp for them from this course, and neither should there be." Every word is true and the righteous anger that accompanies it is justified; indeed the bill has come due for Donald Trump and his sycophantic enablers, liars and assorted criminals of the kind the Federalist Papers warned us about. However, even after the iconoclast is no more than a regrettable Ozymandian footnote we will still needs a reckoning with the 1/3 of this Union who support the treasonous carnival barker who only by the office he holds can earn a security clearance and far more alarming, only by holding that office does he avoid a reckoning with the now 27 investigations in multiple jurisdictions. Impeach we must. Remove we must. Prosecute we must. Our long national nightmare must end.
1
Excellent column Charles, as usual. Biting, scathing and right to the heart of the matter. The Tyrant must Go!
1
Trump was emboldended after Mueller didn't uncover the Grand Bargain he had with Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Israel etc. Having gotten foreign assistance in 2016 to get elected, he figured he could do it again with impunity. All documented in Seth Abramson's Proof of Conspiracy.
4
Isn't the behavior of the Biden family a moot point here? The fact is that Trump admits to breaking Constitutional law. The Biden issue is a totally different subject.
9
The phone call is the tip of the iceberg. Bossert says that he is not sure what turns up in the phone call is impeachable. But Trump, in the call, tells Zelensky to talk to Giuliani. That is key. I had wondered who has become Trump's fixer since he lost Michael Cohen. Who is doing his dirty work under the radar? Now we know. It's a bad choice, because Giuliani can't really stay under the radar. But telling Zelensky to talk with Trump's personal lawyer about a matter of foreign policy is a huge problem. Is this official foreign policy, or Trump business? That's the crux of the matter, and I think the answer is pretty clear.
14
@William S. Monroe
Similarly, AG Barr gets a special mention too. What was the purpose of involving him? I can imagine that Trump threw his name into the mix to ensure his compliance in hiding the recorded evidence. Barr would likely want to keep his reputation (for what that’s worth) unsullied.
8
@Lizzie--Federal Criminal AG Barr is culpable, along with Pompeo and Guliani. All criminals, who prove their criminality everyday. Yes, the TIP of the iceberg.
1
@Lizzie Barr was already asked about his reputation. He said he didnt care about it.
1
Republicans are at best now pleading ignorance. Most are saying that they have read neither the transcript of Trump's conversation with Zelensky nor the whistleblower's complaint. By doing so they think they can adopt the "see no evil" defense. Everyone knows they just do not want to have to defend Trump from either so they claim no knowledge of either. This is particularly relevant to Republican Senators. Their biggest concern right now is in maintaining Republican control. How McConnell handles an impeachment trial if Trump is impeached will center entirely on that concern. If he feels that the evidence established in the House inquiry together with general polling indicates that Trump will lose re-election, then he may rightly calculate that Republicans up for re-election may not retain incumbencies if they side with Trump. Accordingly, in that case, McConnell will set his caucus free to vote on removal based on how each Republican Senator perceives his vote will impact his re-election prospects for 2020 or beyond. What is entirely unlikely is that McConnell will tell his caucus to vote on removal based on the evidence of impeachable offenses alleged. There will be no Republican profiles in courage; it is not part of their value system.
18
Thank you, Charles...
Your unique "The-(Unbridled) Truth-Shall-Set-You-Free" delivery rises to the occassion, again awakening good men who have still have at least a wink of spirit left behind their eyes, for the moment of clarity=love must now be at hand.
Those that hesitate, forever lost (even if relected).
The one deeply nurturing outcome of our country's trial, here, for me, is I have seen into a group of Republicans, following the Light radiating into their clear eyes: the enlightened souls who have stepped forward to be counted, who have judiciously, carefully, and most fearlessly declared, "This King has no clothes".
Seeing such sanity from George Bush and his team, from Bret Stephens who I now consider one of the most astute Republican mouthpieces, from so many, many more, I have been moved and so thankful for their critical thoughts balancing runaway Liberals (of which I am one).
I can only imagine what good our country could achieve if once again a great society births made of good men so smart and wholly human that which side of the aisle they each arise from doesn't overtly enter their considerations for our future.
Out of this melee, I have seen the light of many I thought were sleeping.
For this, I am forever grateful.
And forever hopeful.
4
Although Charles states that "Trump has confessed to the central allegation", there is no such confession. That means he lied as per the standard he applies to Trump. What Trump did in his phone call, as per evidence presented so far, is that Trump expressed to Ukrainian President his interest to know why Biden pressured Ukraine to dismiss the prosecutor who was investigating a company which was paying Biden's son a lot of money using $1 billion of US aid as a leverage. To me, it is not an election interference, but a request to know whether any corruption or abuse of power occurred. Of course, it will have an effect on Biden's candidacy. Too bad for Biden. It looks like his candidacy is finished.
Charles says that Republicans are not patriots because they do not want to impeach Trump based on trumped up charges. Charles should know that not even a majority of the Democrats want have an impeachment enquiry yet. Why is that? Are they not patriots?
4
The Biden matter had already been adjudicated.
Trump held up the aid for months, informing no one. Then he requested Ukraine’s cooperation not with the FBI, but with his “personal” attorney, Giuliani.
The call was sensitive enough that those involved decided to squirrel it away in a secret computer system, rather than disseminate it through normal channels. But of course that was improper, too; the (good version of) the text is now public.
Then Barr, himself named in the complaint, decided it didn’t fall under the aegis of the law directing the IG to forward it to congress.
I ask you: how would you feel if Obama did that?
85
@Alex E there are established channels for complaints like the one of the Bidens alleged misdeeds such as the fbi or cia. it’s not the job of the president or his personal lawyer to be on a case like this and withhold millions of $$ from a struggling country until they “return the favor”
If you don’t see a mafia style exercise of extortion here go watch The Godfather movie and return to evaluate the trump style “leadership”
63
@Alex E Joe Biden was one of Many elected officials, both inside and outside of the USA, (including the UN) that were pressuring Ukraine to get rid of a corrupt investigator/prosecutor. But, in Trumpland, where morals and values are set upside down, the Trump-ites only focus on one narrow bit of the story, to try to suggest that Trump is trying to fight against corruption and that Biden was fostering corruption. Of course, as always is the case with Trump, the truth is exactly and precisely the opposite. I grew up in NY, we New Yorkers know Trump for what he is, and has always been: Aggressive, dishonest, swindler, con man, scam artist. He would just as soon lie as tell the truth because he has exactly zero inner values except what he calls "winning." He has always been corrupt and dishonest, for his entire business and adult life..and he carries those behaviors and tendencies into the white house, and indeed, it spreads like a disease, a malignancy. Charles Blow totally nails it.
74
The President stokes a culture of resentment. We all could look back to this quote of Fredrick Douglas, in the time of division in our country, I wish Charles would enlighten us with a column on this.
“When does the ending begin ?”
The end of a Republic begins on THE day when the heroism of the struggle for equality yields to the cowardice of resentment.”
17
@Carol Not just resentment, but now he's retweeting someone advocating civil war!
Civil war!!
I'm hopeful that snaps at least a couple cowed republicans out of their trances.
1
“It’s not even clear that Mitch McConnell would hold a trial if the House votes to impeach. But, the exercise itself will reveal the true character of the people in Washington, even more than has been revealed already.”
One would hope. But there is little indication there is much depth of character to be had as far a Republican lawmakers are concerned. I just don’t think there will be any Howard Bakers this time around.
The biggest irony in this scandal is that Trump’s closest advisors, the Ukraine conspiracy pushers, are the ones that led him to this point in spite of admonitions from professionals that the conspiracy theory had been completely debunked and also that it was some in his inner circle that tipped the whistle blower.
There is something at Trump’s core that refuses to believe Russia meddled in the 2016 election. The apparent mental instability of the man has become quite frightening.
22
Thank you again, Mr. Blow, for telling it like it is, that, even though:
“The Senate has never voted to convict and remove a president, and that precedent is likely to stand”
—still, through the impeachment process, history will reflect that at least some did not ignore his corrupt ways, what his corrupt acts were, and that they acted accordingly to not let his corruption completely subvert democracy.
20
These Republican Senator worked hard to get into their position of power, what a job they have, what benefits. I think they simply do not wish to loose their exalted positions, morality or the constitution has little to do with it.
24
@mcp They are not leaders; they are followers. Followers of the polls.
79
@mcp
I've had the same thought. Take McConnell: for close to 40 years, he's enjoyed the Rolls Royce of healthcare coverage that we commoners pay for.
It's hard to serve the little folks and it's sure as heck not sexy. So much easier to sit in your comfy chair and talk to just a few very rich people; even easier to invite them to write the legistlative bills for you.
So much power; oh so many perps -- I mean percs.
1
@JB
Republicans stick by the President because they know he is innocent. They haven't fallen victim to the false consciousness spewed by the left wing media.
1
Charles I don't always agree with you but you are spot on with this column. The problem is potus is surrounded enablers and that includes all of the Senate apparently. They all seem to be drinking from the same well. They haven't got the votes in the Senate to impeach this grafter.
11
Charles made the point for majority of the Democrats. The actual process needs to use far less inflammatory language to bring in majority support. Democrats are already all over the map with their message. The discipline needed is badly lacking. Adam Schiff continues to make statements for the TV and not as an arbiter of truth. I think the process should be handled by a third party special counsel and conducted like a court proceeding. The focus should be narrow, and for a well-run process, the case is already proven subject to 4-5 additional primary witness testimony.
6
Whose fault is it that Democrats appear bent to choose candidates who made in office at least a billion from foreign, otherwise uncharitable, companies. For their foundation or children.
And the amount increases, from a billion for the Clintons to one and a half billion for Biden.
Why not choose a candidate who is ready to lose a billion while in office, for the privilege of serving. Like Trump.
Voters appear to prefer the latter.
No wonder that the Democrats try to impeach Trump for things they did. They need desperately to make room for their POTUS, bent on unimaginable enrichment.
7
@novoad And you are not disturbed by the fact that all these foreign ministers and delegations are staying in Trump's properties and letting him know about it? How is that for getting rich from the Presidency? If you read the transcript of Trump's call to the Ukraine President, you will see that the latter makes a point of telling Trump he and his delegation stayed at one of his properties at some point. That is corruption: Trump is getting business and getting rich from the Presidency. Not to speak of all the people Trump failed to pay over the years for their work on his properties, widely documented during his first campaign, but conveniently forgotten by his supporters.
111
@novoad: Nope. The law is the law and Trump broke it. Telling lies about Trump’s political opponents doesn’t change that fact. Trump never served anybody but himself or anything but his own interests. He’s violating the emoluments clause on a daily basis. And that’s a fact.
68
Trump hasn't lost money by becoming President. Folks both foreign and domestic, seeking to curry favor, have revived his hotels, contributed to his re-election campaign, granted licenses to his children's enterprises, and on and on. As during the Vietnam war, Trump has sacrificed nothing.
2
Some pundits and others worry that an impeachment of Trump would, as Mr. Blow puts it, "annul an election." They seem to forget that Trump lost the popular vote. Impeachment of Trump would only annul the results of an electoral college vote. Good riddance, I say.
60
@Clark Landrum
Those who wish to mischaracterize impeachment as such are cynical and dishonest with themselves as much as they are with the American populace.
Impeachment is written into the constitution. This isn't a bunch of politicians concocting a movement to remove the President for nothing. It is utilizing CONSTITUTIONAL means for the removal of a President guilty of abuse of office and not upholding his oath to defend and protect that constitution, among other things.
1
It’s annulment of an election only when it’s a Republican being impeached. When it was a Democrat under impeachment it was their solemn duty...the hypocrisy is staggering.
The man has been ill for decades. There is not much more to be said. This never should have happened.
42
It is often said that someone is "out of his element."
After Trump's election, a comparison was made that the office of the Presidency was like having to strap on a pair of heavy work-boots and adjust your movement to the weight.
Trump is bootless.
If there was ever a case of complete incompatibility- of character and upbringing- with public office, this is it.
This last episode is "perfectly" defining.
Trump is still handling himself, our nation, as if he were trying to float another over-extended real estate deal that has yet to pass an environmental review and zoning laws.
Who, now, at this point, still wants to do him a favor?
Trump shot the poor guy, right there in the street.
There are plenty of witnesses and they have the corpse.
Are they going to let him get away with it again?
27
It seems to me that the Dems (and ultimately the country) win either way on this one. If an impeachment trial occurs, Trump is either removed from office — victory — or he is acquitted after a thorough airing of the Republicans’ dirty laundry, which is also a victory. Democrats will now have specific dirty deeds to bring up throughout the rest of the political campaign season.
If McConnell obstructs or pulls a fast one on the public, it’ll be there for all to see. Those that stick with Trump will be vilified as complicit, those that flee will be ridiculed for sticking with him so long. And the longer it takes for the initial inquiry, the more time there is for exposure of the facts, not to mention the cracking of the Republican wall. Every statement they make or have made in the past will be fodder for the campaign trail.
The only question left: How does this dynamic change if Trump resigns before conviction, a la Nixon?
16
Sadly, Trump will never resign. Nixon had a tiny bit of respect left for the Constitution, was smarter, and not insane. Trump will have to be led (or physically forced) out in chains.
1
"...... if Trump resigns before conviction, a la Nixon?"
We can only hope.
1
Your opinion is that Republicans need to redeem themselves in order to redeem your voting for HRC. Trump voters don't need to redeem themselves - and certainly don't need to redeem others who bought into HRC.
2
@2observe2b
Because it's true. You owe us Amerians an apology for this orange stain on the flag. I'll wait.
" The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults." All the other lies and corruption Mr. Trump has engaged in are irrelevant. The facts are emerging. No matter which political party an American Citizen aligns with, EVERY American Citizen has to address the fact that Donald Trump, his political cronies and officials from foreign governments meddled in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election and have been actively working to manipulate the upcoming 2020 election. These actions alone are undeniably an impeachable offense which threaten the very framework of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. WE THE PEOPLE must work to protect the tenets of the U.S. Constitution. Trump must be held accountable for these treasonous actions. He must face impeachment. WE THE PEOPLE must also hold ANY and EVERY Congressional Member or Senator who refuses to make the current President accountable for this egregious offense liable. WE THE PEOPLE must insist that the Impeachment Process take place. WE THE PEOPLE must protect the American Democracy for coming generations.
36
@Leslie374 You are accusing Donald Trump of "meddling in" the 2016 election? (smile). By that token Obama meddled in the elections in 2008 and 2012.
Dear Leslie, running for office is not "meddling".
As for foreign governments, nothing has been proved. My own belief is that Israel meddles far more than any other country and Saudi Arabia may be number two. Russia is small potatoes by comparison.
I can forsee a number Republican senators failing to be present for the vote to remove Trump and install Pence as President.
Then fewer of them will be needed to convict. For example, if only 81 Senators are present to vote, then only 54 votes are needed to remove Trump. If all 48 Democrats vote to remove, then only 6 Republican votes will be needed to achieve that 2/3 majority.
I am coming around to the idea of a caretaker President Pence.
14
He won’t be a caretaker, just a weak placeholder- which is infinitely preferable to the current out of control situation.
8
Isn't there a logical gap between "investigate the corruption in your country" and "help me politically"?
Democrats have got used to thinking of their interpretations, plausible or not, as facts.
But the relationship between Hunter Biden and Ukraine is indeed troubling. "Biden served on the board of Burisma until his term expired in April 2019, receiving compensation of up to $50,000 a month". Considering that Hunter "graduated from Georgetown University with a bachelor's degree in history." this position with its high salary is indeed troubling.
Whether Trump made a political mistake talking about this to Zelensky or whether the Democrats are making a mistake by impeaching Trump, I do not know. Most likely Joe Biden will be damaged. Whether Trump is damaged or helped we will see.
But what about climate change? What about our infrastructure? What about health care? What about immigration? Are we really going to abandon these issues and focus on one phone call from Trump to Zelensky? And are you impeaching Trump because you do not think you can win in November 2020?
1
@Ludwig
" "Biden served on the board of Burisma until his term expired in April 2019, receiving compensation of up to $50,000 a month". Considering that Hunter "graduated from Georgetown University with a bachelor's degree in history." this position with its high salary is indeed troubling."
Really? How is this indeed troubling when Republican lobbyists pocket millions monthly? And this happened in UKRAINE, Europe, not Ukraine, New York.
"But what about climate change? What about our infrastructure? What about health care? What about immigration? Are we really going to abandon these issues and focus on one phone call from Trump to Zelensky? "
AND SINCE WHEN ARE REPUBLICANS INTERESTED IN ANY OF THE ABOVE?
Sure, you do not know, but I do. Trump was a fool to speak of what he did on that phone call. And he deserves the fury of the political establishment, both Democrat and Republican and Independent for it.
1
@Ludwig
Is it illegal to make money? And princesses Ivanka and Mr Jared aren't out looting the magnanimity of their public offices. Fine let's have an investigation of the Bidens and also Trump. Let's get to the bottom of your swamp. But Trump still no matter what BROKE THE LAW. He's gone
1
@Ludwig
First of all, get your facts straight. Yes Hunter Biden has an undergrad degree from Georgetown, but he then went on to a Law degree from Yale.
Yes he used his name to get this position with Burisma. Unfortunately that initself not a crime and if you look at the children of all top public, be they Democrat or Republican (think GW Bush) you will see they have all enjoyed entry to top schools and high paid do nothing jobs.
If you look at what V.P. Biden did, there was not only no intent to help his son, it was a consensus of international and U.S. inter-agency officials working on anti-corruption issus that the prosecutor should be removed.
Joe Biden's mistake, and it was glaring, was, because he was acting in good faith and clearly not in the interests of his son, to not recognize or ignore the obvious appearance of a Conflict of Interest and how it could come back to bite him.
Trump was not looking for a serious investigation into the matter, he was demanding/extorting the Ukranians to fabricate dirt so he could destroy his poitical opponent. That is already coming to light and we are just in the early days of this investigation.
Impeachment is the remedy for the unpatriotic transgression he has already confessed to. Please, Dems, don’t mess this up.
29
Just by observing the chronically anti-social behavior of the majority of Republicans, it's hard to imagine that the word redemption could apply here. Jim Jordon, who has his own legal issues, seemed positively certifiably insane when interviewed by Jake Tapper yesterday. Mitch McConnell quietly "went rogue" - as Nancy Pelosi might say - many years ago. Most Republicans, amazingly, have extreme difficulty in following the rules of their office, never mind the law of the land. And nobody votes them out! That's the other big question, here: can Trump VOTERS redeem themselves? Or are they also so deranged that their collective judgement is permanently skewed?
22
An appropriate article for the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It is a holiday based on the concept of Teshuva, tranlslated literallly as returning. It is time for the Republican party, and especially for Republican senators, to return to their senses. To reclaim their dignity. To acknowledge that their leader, the man they have chosen to embrace, is an imposter. Yes, most likely it will just be a few. But remember how powerful John McCain's voice was in opposing Trump? Even if just a handful were to return, it would have a very powerful effect.
26
@David, thank you for putting the article's use of the word 'redemption' in its historically spiritual context, where it truly belongs.
I hope that more than a few Republicans will 'return' during the High hHolidays, will re-embrace ethical standards for political leadership and timeless natural laws against abuse of refugees ("remember, you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt") and against oppression of the ethnic and other minorities among us.
Lost in the obsession of the press with impeachment is the demoralizing effect of this scofflaw administration on us, the people, who, in recent memory, could trust public officials to honor the moral law.
1
It's about time that the media and the voters at large are calling this man for what he is: a fraud. Even though some have called him for what he is for several years, nothing seems to have moved the needle as you so well explain Mr. Blow. The Mueller report gave this administration a non intended victory. Are we now at the turning point when Republicans who are so afraid of Trump and
his base will finally choose country over party? The Democrats led by Speaker Pelosi and Representative Schiff will need to move swiftly so the Orange Mobster does not have time to move the ball back in his court. This would be a good time for Americans to go to town halls, the village square or any government building in droves and demand that this error of history be removed from office and his minions thrown in jail with him. We cannot just get rid of him for now, we need to get rid of him forever. We are better than this and our democracy needs to survive this grave moment. As for Lindsay Graham and co.they are trying really hard to make such fools of themselves...Back here in Maine, everyone is looking for Susan Collins. Have you seen her?
18
Donald Trump has put himself under a microscope for almost 60 years. He is the most honest politician the world has ever known. He is as constant as the Northern Star he has not deviate from what he has always been. Even as the world has raced here and with there with speed and passion Donald has stayed Donald.
There are many who think this is a good thing because Donald has not become America, America has become Donald. The world knows after you shake Donald's hand you count your fingers. It's Donald's America and its America's world.
"Stop the world I want to get off."
6
"He is the most honest politician the world has ever known." If lying constantly makes you honest, this is certainly true.
@APH
I am afraid you don't understand. Your fearless leader has been in the public eye for almost 60 years and has never spoken the truth. For Donald to speak the truth would be too betray the trust we have in knowing everything he says is a lie from before the bone spurs kept him out of his beloved military.
1
"... not even clear that Mitch McConnell would hold a trial if the House votes to impeach..." Can almost guarantee he'll not allow a trial. But, if he does, he will not allow TV cameras.
6
@Rethinking
If he dares pull a procedural maneuver along those sorts, it will be the end of his career (hich should have needed over a decade ago, actually). This man thinks, as a temporary steward of the Senate, that he is the constitution and he gets to decide.
Moscow Mitchsky, you are beholden to the constitution, not the other way around.
6
There are no patriotic Republicans. If a Republican were patriotic, they, long ago, would have left the Republican Party.
26
@Zachary Burton That is very broad brush you are painting with, don’t you think? Only democrats are patriotic?
My two year old granddaughter gets a time out if she does something she isn't t supposed to do.
Trump needs a major time out! The Republicans that do not give him a time out, need a time out as well!
13
@BSR When you say Trump needs a time out as might a two year old you intuitively know what mental health clinicians know about classic interventions for persons with MALIGNANT narcissism (extreme sociopathy): they need external constraints, firm limit setting. No one has set limits on criminal Trump, and therefore, as top mental health clinicians in the country have correctly predicted: he continues to worsen w/ each passing day. That fact alone should scare every American, and demolish any argument that we can afford to wait for the 2020 election to vote him out.
2
Be careful what you wish for. Hillary Clinton wanted Trump as the nominee because she was losing to just about anyone else.
Putting aside the absurdity that Republicans want or can redeem themselves, there's no such redemption for the American public, which is perfectly capable of electing Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio, even after all this.
6
@jrd Why is it easy for some to forget that Hillary won the popular vote by a huge margin?
(Her EC loss is well-known to have been forced by voter suppression and a dual GOP/Russian social media propaganda storm, which scarcely reflects the will of the American people.)
"Trump’s bill has come due. Impeachment is in the offing. The Democrats must impeach this malignant fraudster. They don’t really have a choice. There is no off-ramp for them from this course, and neither should there be."
Mr. Blow,
There is essentially nothing that can be added to anything you assert in this report, a report which in my opinion is a message of clarity and purpose, to our entire government and to the American people.
Even if right prevails, there is still a very large enduring problem here in America, and that is the fact that 4.3 people, out of every 10 people, support this abomination when know as Trump, and the nature of their alliegance to him can be defined using the same words you use in this report.
And this fact, this undeniable fact, which the elevation of Trump brought out into the daylight, is even scarier than Trump; I think Trumps' Republican partners fully understand this and they may use it to further stir the cauldron of hate they have been stirring for so long, destroy the impeachment inquiry and lay waste to any possibility that decency and respect may rise again come November 2020.
Biden will become an early casualty as this battle develops, and thereafter the Pelosi Schumer Republican-Lite Party will have to face the reality that unequivocal support of Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren will be our only road home.
17
Twenty Republican Senators are needed and all Democratic Senators are needed to vote guilty in an impeachment trial.
Republicans have always been the party that is held together with superglue and the Democrats have always been more independent.
It will never happen, Charles.
5
@esp
Recommend you re-read the column!
Mr. Blow wrote:
“Or, will they all go down with Trump as flaming sycophants? I’m sure many will. Most may. But, some surely won’t.”
He doesn’t think the Republicans will convict, but he’s hoping at least some will put country before party and complicity with malfeasance.
1
@esp But the American public will learn a heck of a lot about Trump's criminal offenses as the investigation continues. That could put the Independents' vote against him.
1
“The impeachment of Donald Trump offers an opportunity for redemption for Republicans. The only question is how many will seize it.”
My guess is, not many.
17
@Patrick Sewall
@esp
Recommend you re-read the column! That’s exactly what Mr. Blow wrote!
“Or, will they all go down with Trump as flaming sycophants? I’m sure many will. Most may. But, some surely won’t.”
He answers his question. He knows it won’t be many. He’s hoping, tough, that at least some will put country before party and complicity with malfeasance.
"It must have been an awesome feeling, to float above the rules made for the commoners, to be unbound by trust, virtue, morality and responsibility."
Charles, why would that be "awesome" when Donald Trump is just governing the way he operated in business for all his life?
What's "awesome" --in another definition of the term--is how those around him have either eagerly embraced his powermongering, or been thrown out of Washington for lack of "loyalty."
This for me is the crux of the problem and why impeachment is going to be such a hard process in today's America. When only one half the nation lives by reality, and the other by half-baked lies, conspiracy theories, and expediency, we are truly at a crossroads: every day this man remains in office, the country loses a little more of its identity as a land where the law, not personalities, is king.
16
@ChristineMcMre: Q: "Why would (floating above the rules) be awesome when DT is just governing the way he has operated in business his whole life?" A: Because now he's operating in the biggest arena of all. His position feeds his MALIGNANT narcissism, and enlarges possibilities for his rampant criminality.
Mr. Blow is 100% correct. Trump has attempted enlist a foreign power to help investigate the corruption of American politicians. That is beyond the pale. Whether Joe Biden engaged in corruption is up to him to disclose, in consultion with other Democrats in Congress. Who gave Trump the authority to investigate violations of law?
8
I fear the GOP would as soon tear the country apart, literally taking the most deeply red states with them, than back down from supporting Trump.
They finally have the dictatorship they have wanted for at least 20 years and are as likely to give it up as liberal america is to accept it. Thier 'perminate majority'.
Trump will be the agent of national dissolution. It pains me to see it happening because I love our country...imperfect as it is.
11
@Seattle As far as I'm concerned, this time around we should allow the most deeply red states to secede. Then the rest of us won't have to continue to support them financially.
1
To date, Republicans just watched this carnage from the sidelines; the equivalent of those that stand by and record a beating with their cell phones rather than helping the victim. In this case, the victim is the United States and the democratic values we all hold dear. The time has now come to decide whether they want to help the victim, or the perpetrator. My hope is that when finally faced with having to make a decision, they’ll make the one that will benefit the country, and not their own self-interest.
12
The Republican Party is a cult with one central tenet that power is everything and all else, democracy included, takes a backseat.
They know that with the country's changing demographics their hold on power is tenuous and so will do whatever they must to keep a grip on it. If the impeachment inquiry turns out to be something other than a "nothing burger", losing the Senate in 2020 let alone the White House becomes an increasingly real possibility and that could be the beginning of the end of the Republican Party. They are invested in making sure it is a nothing burger.
So for better or worse, Trump is their guy and will remain so until the preponderance of evidence is so overwhelming that there is no other choice. But it will always be the last choice.
14
@Ron Aaronson They are authoritarians who need to follow someone. If a strong anti-Trump authoritarian emerges many might jump to a different leader.
The only solution is to follow the role Congress has in matters such as this. If the world is told that you are a country made up of laws what other option is there. In the end regardless of the outcome Congress must do its job of oversight. The people will decide their future. If they choose Trump for a second term then they will live out their consequences. If the evidence is clear and impeachment is the end result then the Senate must pass the recommendation to impeach, if not then they have not only failed in their duty but they will demonstrate to all their complicity in the most corrupt administration in US history
14
John Dean wrote a book that explains why this is so difficult for Republicans. They are authoritarians and authoritarians believe implicitly whatever it is their authority figure says.
As head of the Republican party, Trump is their authority figure - whatever he says must be right. This is fundamental to their thinking, or so explained Dean in his book, Conservatives without Conscience.
33
@PacoC-- some of them are experiencing an assault from their own consciences right now.
@PacoC Thanks for the book tip.
Trump is our horrific natinal nightmare, and he represents the worst in humans and in leaders: lying, fabricating reality, demanding allegiance, destroying our environment.
Authority resides in the people, NOT in a President. He works for us, Why anyone fears him is preposterous.
Impeach the idiot.
Republicans need a better boat. Probably a bigger boat too.
Right now, theirs is a tired, old, leaky craft about to sink. Old white and tethered to greed, guns and god, voter suppression and gerrymandering. Hardly a winning formula for the future.
Averse to change, no one seems interested in, much less dedicated to developing the new conservatism---articulating core principles, a policy lattice and national campaign architecture. Such a magnet party could attract core elements of the old and allow for, and support a re-birth.
It provides something the Republicans desperately need and lack: something to move TOWARDS. Otherwise, all they're left with is a kind of political doomsday or Trump. The latter being just a somewhat slower version of the former.
19
Absolutely. And this moment offers Republicans both political opportunity—-to lead with integrity—-along with a chance to turn the tide of history. Well stated, Charles. Let you souls lead, Republicans—-and we will know the state of them. Trusting that you will see clearly now—-and embrace this moment that you were elected for. We the people have entrusted you. It’s not too late.
12
As you say, Republicans in Congress will do what they have long since been doing as far as Trump is concerned. They will continue to support him until they see the public at large turning against him. Then, they will get out in front and lead the charge. It's what they've always done in the past and will do so in the days ahead. They're politicians after all.
3
The one thing that this article doesn't discuss is the ambition of many Republican leaders.
While many, if not most, are terrified at the certain social media attack that the first to attempt to "pull back the curtain" will receive. Many, if not most, don't see the height of their political career as a Congressman or Senator... they fantasize about being President.
Perhaps a few of those ambitious Republicans see their route to the White House being tied to their party's return to "family vales" and "fiscal responsibility" (I'm looking at you Mitt Romney).
I know it's easy to be pessimistic about the GOP's leadership with Mitch McConnel and Lindsay Graham setting an ugly precedent, but I'm still hopeful that someone in that party understands the concept of patriotism.
12
Republican Senators: look to the U.K. where Parliament has the backbone to oppose Johnson. Take a step back from Trump, reflect, and consider about how awful he has proven himself to be. Try to see the situation and the person as history will; where will you be in that story?
23
So, I understand that Chief Justice Roberts presides over an impeachment trial, but once once articles of impeachment are served, what are the mechanics? There is something about the (GOP) Senate deciding rules of evidence, trial procedures. Does McConnell have to initiate this? There seems to be an abundance of trouble people can make, by acting in bad faith (think Merrick Garland). There is no political recourse to any of this until November 2020.
12
Mr. Blow says it is not clear whether Mitch McConnell would hold a trial. Actually, it is John Roberts who would hold a trial.
In a crunch, it would be Roberts, presiding, who would be determining the time and place of trial; and ultimately it would be he who would determine if two-thirds of the senators present had voted to convict.
17
Whatever the Senate does - following up on the House's indictment or failing to follow up, convicting Trump or failing to convict him - it will be seen doing it. Each Senator will be answerable to his or her constituency, and the more solid the case against Trump is, the heavier their responsibility will be.
29
Excellent point! @Jose Ferreira
Now there's the Charles Blow I know--the columnist who is determined to lead the charge to impeach Donald Trump and run him out of Washington DC on a rail.
Don't worry -- the Congressional Republicans will eventually start jumping ship and join the impeachment chorus when Trump becomes a serious liability to their re-election chances in 2020. They'll all start saying things like "Not Me" and "Donald Trump Who" on the campaign trail. Wait and see. Part of the reason Nixon resigned was that Republican lawmakers didn't want to lose their seats in Congress and the Senate because of Nixon and Watergate. Nixon became a liability so he had to go. Even Moscow Mitch McConnell is going to be pressured into holding an impeachment trial in the Senate presided over by Chief Justice Roberts just to serve his own interest of looking fair and impartial.
Now all we have to do is see how all this melodrama plays out.
34
@sharon5101
Trump will not become a liability.
His base is "worried" about their guns.
The religious right (forget God or even the 10 commandants) are salivating for a 6th supreme court justice so they can finally do in abortion and gay rights.There are more Electoral College votes in the rural areas than there are in the urban areas.
Trump and the Republicans know this.
The Electoral College reigns supreme.
22
Why do you think the Democrats are so determined to impeach Trump before the 2020 election. They want to make sure Trump doesn't have a chance to be re-elected by getting him out of office post-haste and replacing him with a weak President Pence. Pence would be easily defeated in the general election thus ensuring a Democratic victory. The humiliation of 2016 would be erased at last.
12
@sharon5101. I really don't get all this "humiliation of 2016 defeat" claim. I'm a Democrat. My party has been defeated plenty of times in my 75 years. I grumble and bicker with my Republican friends. I hope next time around my party wins.
Trump is the person who finds defeat "humiliating" and unbearable. So he thinks everyone must feel the same way. He's convinced others that any Democrat who objects to him must be getting revenge for the "unbearable humiliation" of losing. Nope.
I hoped trump would become Presidential after he won. That the office would inspire his best self. That he'd do infrastructure. I didn't like him, but since he won I was ready to hope for the best, like always when my party loses.
I never imagined he could inflict so much damage.
That's why I oppose him and reluctantly support impeachment. Not because I am nursing a desire for revenge for "humiliation" because my party lost.
14
With the right messaging the Dems should be able to clean house in 2020. The fear of a more energized base if Trump is impeached is miss directed.Trumps base is has been energized since 2016. Trump should fear an energized Democrat and Independent base. Trump has engaged in bringing Biden bias because he fears Biden most. Trump hasn't mentioned Warren in months because he would rather fight her in 2020. I fear Biden is losing his Mojo and will soon sputter. Waiting on The Republicans to unchain from Trump is like watching grass grow or paint dry. A full court press should be on to unseat Moscow Mitch and Trumps golfing buddy and caddy Lindsay Graham.
37
@ Steven McCain-
Thank you. I have actually canceled my subscription to the NYT over the ridiculous cacophony of their pundits saying that impeachment is going to be trouble for no one but Democrats. Let’s all remember a FACT, people – Trump was elected by the Electoral College, not by the majority of Americans. Trump’s “base” is still the minority in this country, and that minority gets smaller by the day. But the conservative scribes at the NYT and everywhere else want us all to believe that this will do nothing but energize Trump’s loyalists and ensure him reelection in 2020.
Trump will be gone. Either through removal by Congress or the American people next year. And Charles is exactly right in stating the obvious - history is in the process of painting targets on the backs of every Republican officeholder still willing to support this narcissistic traitor to the Constitution.
So for now everyone, and to you, NYT – goodbye. I’ll see if picking up a subscription to the NYT will be worth it down the road. Right now, except for columnists like Charles here, it’s nothing but noise.
Well documented recitation of what trump has done and survived. Now, however, the Intelligence Community has had enough and he will not survive its assault on him.
31
@Allen82
Not so. Everything in Mr. Blow's paragraph " He could get caught …." is not true. Research each claim carefully!
It will be interesting to see if Mitch McConnell decides to hold a trial after Trump's almost certain lmpeachment by the House. The Constitution gives each branch of Congress the plenary power to determine its own "rules and procedures". A 1990's court case involving the impeachment of Federal judges gave the Senate total control over how it defines itself. Merrit Garland's failure to get a hearing looms ominously.What if McConnell simply moves to dismiss the impeachment charges against Trump, and then invokes the " Nuclear Option " to avoid a filibuster?
13
@Don Shipp.he will hold a trial. And the GOP, in lockstep, won’t convict. And Trump (and Fox) will insist he was exonerated
It is now more a question of how than of whether to impeach. And more a question of where impeachment leads than if it occurs or not.
Getting Senate Republican votes to convict may be less difficult than is commonly assumed. Establishment Democrats don't want to admit that many Trump supporters were more against their party's waffling in Washington than for Trump's wrecking ball. It would not be wise to expect Trump's removal from office (whether by Senate conviction, resignation or in the 2020 electoral college) but irresponsible not to try to achieve it, and as soon as possible.
Joe Biden's role is a stumbling block for the imperative effort to remove the current president, whom any informed and objective observer knows never should have been put in that job in the first place.
Of course, Biden's actions with Ukraine are very different than Trump's, and that should continue to be stressed. Nonetheless, financial pressure was applied under conflict of interest circumstances in both cases.
The future of America's constitutional system is far more important than Biden's anyway questionable quest for the White House, and plenty of other candidates are well-qualified to take the lead on the huge clean-up task awaiting the next president and Congress. For the good of the country, Biden should withdraw his presidential bid, and his backers should do what is right, curtail their support, carefully compare other viable alternatives for 2020, and actively focus on impeachment.
9
@Sage
"Nonetheless, financial pressure was applied under conflict of interest circumstances in both cases."
Can you please substantiate that statement. It seems fabricated.
Joe Biden will not be the nominee. But It will be great if the TRUMP CAMPAIGN for the longest time believes he is. And focuses their evil energy on him.
17
@Sage
Biden's role has been thoroughly debunked by the intelligence community. Check out the current headline story in today's Times' story about Trump's own former NSA trying vainly to disabuse 45 of his delusions.
Biden is not the story here, as the people that have tried to cover up the meeting well know. Trump is.
Two things. First I hope the senate does not convict trump. If he’s actually removed, Pence will become president and we know from the whistleblower complaint that Pence is implicated in the espionage, and as president he would immediately pardon trump and all of the co-conspirators. Second, I want the trial in the senate to engulf the republican senators by requiring each of them to stand and publicly admit they prefer a criminal administration over the rule of law. Then each of them can be removed through the electoral process.
So, let’s impeach trump and prosecute him, his children and co-conspirators, including Pence, in January 2021.
41
I think getting rid of Trump is paramount. Pence would continue to be investigated and possibly impeached himself. In any case, he doesn’t inspire the cult-like following Trump does - he wasn’t even going to be re- elected as governor of Indiana- and would be much easier to beat in 2020. The other Republicans wouldn’t be afraid of him, which would unblock Congress to a degree. I wish they’d all be held to account too, but I think we’ll have to settle for voting them out (yes, as accessories to the crime).
30
@snarkqueen
I think this is a red herring argument already used for too long to stall on impeachment.
If Trump is indeed impeached and removed for violating his office of office, the Representatives and Senators voting for that should thereupon publicly pledge that if Pence then pardons Trump, they will immediately vote to impeach and try Pence for the same violation.
Pence would be put on notice that if he pardons, his would likely be the shortest US presidency ever and known only for going down in shameful loyalty to his predecessor (the first-ever impeached-and-removed).
If Trump is indeed thrown out of the White House, I think most Republicans would be more worried about how to pick the shards of their party and move on, than about protecting him from the full force of the rule of law.
And even if Trump is pardoned, that would be a more than acceptable price to pay, even if it cuts short his disastrous and disgraceful presidency by only one year.
2
And New York could still bring charges- the state recently passed an exception to the double jeopardy rule- because of Trump.
1
Unfortunately, almost all Republicans will not turn against Trump until their internal polls show that they will lose if they continue to support him. That's the sad but simple bottom line. Except, of course, for senators like Romney who can afford to distance himself from Trump because he is not running in 2020.
8
What I don't completely understand from a practical point of view is why the Republicans think that they have to stand by Trump and Trump alone in order to carry out their agenda. Granted Trump's base would be angry with them if they vote to impeach him, but on the other hand how many of that base would actually vote for a Democrat in the next election if Trump were not on the ballot? My guess is not very many.
They might have more trouble in the primaries against Trump-loving challengers, but again with Trump gone from office, those challengers would be waving the flag for an individual whose bellowings no longer have the import that they do now. Also many Republicans, especially more moderate ones and those from purple states are often not eager to have close association with Trump during their reelection campaigns in any event.
It would seem to me that with a less unstable and less dramatic figure in the oval office for the duration of Trump's term Congress might actually be able to get something done. And subsequently nominate a less polarizing figure to run in 2020.
5
Peter Wehner’s opinion piece in this edition of the NYT is well worth reading. It lends a psychological perspective to why Trump supporters stick with him at this point. Highly recommended!
@Margaret Campbell
Pence is even more frightening with his religious agenda.
@Sheila Jones Very true, but Pence would not actually have much time as POTUS before Trump's term would run out. I seriously doubt that the Republicans would make him the nominee for the 2020 election, though you never know. Interesting speculation - if Trump were gone (oh, miracle of miracles) who would the GOP nominate?
I say let the staunch defenders of Trump keep circling the wagon around their Great Leader. I saw Senator Graham and Representative McCarthy defending trump on the Sunday shows. Graham went so far as to state he has Trump's back. Watching Graham I was reminded of the same hysterical act he did during the Kavanaugh hearing. Graham flailing at that hearing caused the Dems to cower and it served Kavanaugh well. I doubt if he can recreate his role again with Trumpgate. I would suggest the Dems make a rock-solid case against Trump and then let the people who refuse to drink Trump Kool-Aid decide. The egg on the faces of Trumps Senate Supporters will be so massive that some of them will have to get a real job after 2020. For the life of me, I can't see how Graham holds on to his seat in South Carolina if all the eligible voters vote in 2020. If the Dems play their cards right the Republicans will be getting in line behind Trump to find a good moving company in 2021
35
When Democrats begin to speak out against AOC, the rest of the Squad, Bernie Sanders and renounce Hillary Clinton going back to her unelected positions on socialized medicine and a two state solution in the Middle East, then you are reasonable in expecting Republicans to voice positions that differ from Trumps.
4
The mother of all deflections. This brouhaha has nothing to do with the issues. Although I disagree strongly with most Republican positions, I support their right to argue for them. This is about something else, Trump openly breaking the law and his colleagues supporting his criminality.
69
@From Where I Sit
Ok so you can continue paying$12,000 a year for substandard healthcare.
You can have methane in your air and water. You can continue adding to th so 1.5 trillion in debt trumps created,
You can continue losing the right to vote . AOC is smart and cares about average Americans: more than anyone can say about trump.
5
@Carla
I haven’t had health coverage since my (Honorable) discharge 40 years ago. My job doesn’t pay enough to afford it. I don’t expect my boss to cover it directly or indirectly nor would I expect the taxpayer to pay for it.
'an attempt to annul an election"
This phrase is being used quite often by pundits these days. But even if Trump is convicted and removed, the election won't be annulled since Pence will take over.
14
@Sha Impeach Pence! (President Pelosi for the remainder of the term sounds pretty good to me!)
1
“I’m looking at you, Lindsey Graham.”
We’re all looking at him, Mr. Blow, and wondering how he went from a reasonably normal politician to a toadying fool overnight. After a conversation on a golf course. Actually, most of us aren’t wondering at all. Most of us have a pretty good idea. Most of us also think the American press won’t touch it. This is one moment when even his brothers and sisters, who would normally be opposed to such a thing, would celebrate his unmasking. Who, among all the reporters in the country, will touch the story? Probably nobody. It’s like flying saucers. The minute you touch this story, your career is probably over. It’s dispiriting. In this season of our discontent, it’s a story that should be told to demonstrate just how ugly the game gets inside the Beltway.
33
@ADN
Call Lindsey Graham to the witness stand.
Declare him a hostile witness.
"Did the Russians mess with your candidacy in 2016 to benefit Trump?"
If "No" put his many contrary statements contemporaneous with the act into evidence.
"Did you state at the time that Trump was unfit for office?"
If "no", place his many inconsistent contemporaneous statements into evidence.
13
@ADN It must have been John McCain's backbone holding Graham up in the past because he certainly doesn't have one of his own.
I can't believe that this is the same man that not so long ago declared Trump unfit for office and now seems to be willing to do anything to keep him in it.
Once again political expediency wins hands down over patriotism and support for the rule of law.
17
@ADN—
It’s not Graham’s choice to contradict himself for reasons about which we can only speculate. He was born that way, and to insist otherwise is SO 2016. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
4
Trump’s continuation as president should be feared by all Americans; if Trump is reelected it’s hard not to consider USA becoming Authoritarian.
Speaker Pelosi and Intelligentsia should easily see what are obvious parallels to Mussolini’s era and educate millennials and other amnesiacs to history’s 1930s despots.
I am an old sick man, but at this point of America’s rapidly approaching Disintegration she will be dead long before me.
43
Let's not overlook how Attorney General Barr has "gone rogue". He got his shameful Justice Department to rule that Trump's crime alleged by the whistleblower was no crime when it patently is. Soliciting foreign help to influence a US election is a CRIME. Trump has been caught dead to rights and Barr has tried to cover it up. Barr should lose his right to practice law, as should those NSC lawyers or White House functionaries who stashed Trump's evidence of culpability on a top-secret codeword server so no one would find it. Let's find out what else that server hides and let Barr pay the price or his evident complicity in concealing and denying Trump's crime.
63
I find it very difficult to believe that it is possible for republicans to redeem themselves.
35
We really are at a crossroad.
I fear Trump could get away with this, as he did with Russian interference, and get re-elected.
It disgusts me how his enablers spin this in anyway they can, ignoring the truth in front of their faces.
20
The Democrats have won the initiative. They have to seize it.
Trump on the defensive has got to be the new normal. He is not as invincible as he puts on and he's not a heavy weight and he can get knocked out before the fight is over. Make him a liability for the Republicans. Make them suffer. They deserve this with their phony patriotism. They will do absolutely anything to keep power.
Let that be their comeuppance
37
It would be best if Republican senators force Trump to resign, in order to save their own skins in 2020.
16
There is a reason they have not done so already. It is called being between a rock and a hard place. Many of those pelts are beyond salvage.
Republicans like to think of themselves as patriots. Now is the time to prove they are - by supporting the Democrats' efforts to impeach.
18
Frankly, I'm so weary of this so-called administration that I can't even hazard a guess as to what is about to happen once all of the President's misdeeds are laid out before us. But I do know this: If the Republicans don't shake off the stink of Donald Trump, they will slowly decay from the inside out as a result of his infectious corruption. They can choose to live or die as a viable political party by staying or walking away. That, in my opinion, will be the legacy of this entire sordid episode in our history. The GOP has sold their collective souls to this sad empty man and this is going to be their only chance to salvage any trace of dignity, veracity and courage of conviction.
34
@Bo Berrigan
The republicans have no dignity etc to salvage.
They can flip sides in order to keep their cushy jobs and continue to be the liars that they are, if the pressure forces them to.
Just because some people perceive them as having any sort of honesty does not make them honest or courageous. They are neither. It is too late. The only honest or courageous thing they could do is to resign, confess their weaknesses, and support someone more deserving of the public trust.
After watching how this "malignant fraudster" has succeeded in taking apart what many saw as a stable democratic system over the last three years I only expect this impeachment to demonstrate one thing once more: that the "checks & balances" do not work in the intended way.
As long as the "jury" (here: the Senate) consists of Republicans, who put their career over country and who depend on getting voted into office again by the offender´s supporters, and as long as no other objective corrective exists there is no check. There is a clear flaw in the system.
I wished some Republicans would grab that chance to redeem themselves. However, just listening to Lindsay Graham in the face of Trump´s obvious transgression tells you where things will be going. It is sickening.
41
The Republicans are as conveniently conscience free as their present master, so don't hold your breath, Charles.
They are just like Trump, only with better manners. I doubt McConnell would invite guests to lunch and give them one scope of ice cream while he has two. That is the sole and defining difference.
Will they turn on him? In a heartbeat if it appears to be in their interest. Yes, even the unctuous Lindsay Graham. Who knew his honor was buried with McCain?
Fie on the lot of them.
24
When I was in charge of the care of 35 patients with mental health issues...a state inpatient unit. I had an expression in my headthat applied to both patients and my staff. “Not on my watch you don’t!” Of course meaning that nobody harms anybody else or themself and staff are not allowed to be abusive in any way. It’s time for the entire Congress to stand up and say to Trump and Mcconnell, “Not on my watch you don’t!”. Cowards look for many others to back them up. True leaders don’t need that. It occurs to me that women are generally better at this. Maybe woman think about what the misbehavior is doing to the whole team, (the country), the price everyone is going to pay, the price of low moral, the price of losing talented staff. Doesn’t that sound familiar! Right now there isn’t anyone in the US that isn’t or won’t be paying for this decline in principles, for all the self interest without limits and the financial gain that has become so respected by too many. Principled behavior means that everyone counts. It means that the truth is respected. It means that success is shared. I know, this is asking a lot of politicians, but a nod to this by some Republicans would be!! Trump is what you get when self interest becomes the only motivator, the only plan, the only reason to say anything. Disagreeing on issues is not the problem. Denying the facts, denying reality, that’s “crazy making”. So it’s nice to read, no matter how many times, the reality of what took place.
16
Well, if you are depending on women to reign in the Republican chaos presided over by Trump, do NOT expect much help from Susan Collins [R, Maine] or Lisa Murkowski [R, Alaska]. These senior Republican senators will merely clutch their pearls and feign horror while they retire to their fainting couches.
Truth in every word Mr. Charles Blow. If congressional Republicans do not vote to impeach Trump, the Joker, then they are complicit in his immorality and crimes. It is difficult for me to believe there are still ethical, morally upright Americans who actually support this monster. Donald Trump is anathema to everything good about America and its people. One final note on Watergate. It was in the final hour of Nixon's presidency when conservative Republican informed the president that he must resign that Richard Nixon knew he was finished. What has happened to the Republican party of today? It is no longer the party of Abraham Lincoln. It IS the party of Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingraham and Colter.
27
My guess is that the Republicans don’t feel in need of redemption. They are getting what they want from Trump in terms of making the rich richer and the poor suffer. They care about nothing else.
21
You are right, Mr. Blow. The one value that conservatives hold above all others is loyalty. This is also the highest value of the lowest, most corrupt groups and gangs. Loyalty is everything. As such, Republicans will not only stick by Trump but consider it their duty and be proud of it. Ideas of morality and decency are for the weak, apparently. As for how they will be perceived by history? They'll rewrite it; and then change the textbooks.
11
Regarding Donald Trump and the Republican Party on a zero-to-ten scale, my Trust Factor is zero. Regarding Donald Trump and all Republicans, including the Republican base, their Credibility Factor is zero. In contrast, Michelle Obama is a ten, Ken Burns is a ten, Stephen Colbert is a ten. Thomas Jefferson is a ten, Abraham Lincoln is a ten, Franklin D. Roosevelt is a ten.
13
Charles Blow is right not to hold his breath for mass defections from Trump. The president's enablers have shown by sitting back and allowing him to roll back vital environmental regulations that they won't put the good of our planet above their political interests, let alone our country.
8
Mr. Romney! Please run as an independent. Siphon off republican votes and the Donald is finished.
12
Had Romney won in 2012, we wouldn’t be in this position. You should have supported him at that time.
Had the so-called “evangelical” Christians supported Romney in 2012 the same way they supported the lawless criminal Trump in 2016 and beyond, Romney may well have won.
Just like a Republican to blame the opposition for losing an election. Next time nominate a better candidate.
Charles,
Lindsey Graham is right, this smells like a setup.
Even if Moderate Republicans dislike Trump they can’t dismiss the obvious bias.
This thing is DOA
2
Anyone who supports this "president" after being given a road map to his corruption is either willfully ignorant or … well, that's about it. Voters should take note and vote for their country's survival.
12
No, not “that’s about it.” Actually, “or totally, utterly, and completely morally bankrupt.”
1
@Chris Wildman
"willfully ignorant"..........or "in" on the scam, which seems more & more like the truth. The whole lot of them are sociopaths.
1
A Trump who senses he's losing his grip on power can be counted on to pull out all the stops when it comes to destroying his enemies. Those presently surrounding him and faithfully doing his bidding would do well to bear in mind, 'I was just following the president's orders' will do nothing to keep them from going to prison when the worm turns and justice finally prevails.
4
If there is a trial, the Chief Justice of the McConnell Court will preside.
3
"...some have been completely unseemly in their obsequious kowtowing. I’m looking at you, Lindsey Graham."
Thank you. Say it often.
13
Most Republicans are accepting a would-be dictatorship because it gets them the outlawing of abortion and the inability to hold the powerful rich responsible for their antisocial but profitable acts. They see redeeming themselves as bringing back the Morning in America America created by St. Ronnie, and this time making it permanent and impervious to Clintons or Obamas.
7
There's no way McConnell will allow a trial in the Senate.
2
Why isn’t Giuliani disbarred? Why isn’t barr disbarred? Why isn’t trump’s support indicted?
6
Republicans will only turn on Trump if their own misdeeds remain concealed by doing so.
It’s never just been about judges, seats, and their personal racism and misogyny. They’ve been trying to hide their corruption, crimes, and dirty hands all along. No one works this hard to cover for someone else.
8
The line from the raw and powerful Greta Thunberg UN speech is so apt here: “the eyes of future generations are on you.”
6
I sort of hope Republican senators retain their mulish loyalty to the chief. It will put their disloyalty to their country in stark contrast.
2
Given that he is s a Putin stooge, Trump never wanted to provide Ukraine with the defensive weapons Congress and the Senate had approved in the first place. Given that he ultimately had no choice however, he tried to leverage the weapons to extract manufactured evidence against Biden and his son in an effort to retain his presidency. Putin in turn, would be appeased knowing he would possibly have his puppet doing his bidding until 2024. A win/win for Putin and Trump - a tragic loss of democracy for our nation.
9
@logic
Doesn’t it seem to warrant attention that Putin has expressed concern that HIS private conversations with Trump NOT make it into the public light of day?
I would like any tapes of Putin conversations also to be subpoenaed.
4
@Jean Great point!
Before reading this column, zero would "seize the opportunity for redemption." After reading it... zero. I think the time is now past when there was value in commiserating, as here, with the miserable majority. The first half of this column - the guesses about Mr. Trump's psychological mechanism - will get nods from them and shrugs or chuckles from the others. As for the arm's-length analysis of the Republicans' situation in the second half, expressions like "on which side of patriotism," "obsequious kowtowing," "hacks and hypocrites" and "flaming sycophants" - however constructively intended - won't do much to empower any Republican senator to take the difficult step. Why difficult? Because they likely see it as political suicide. These are human beings, folks. And we're asking a lot of them, even if we're asking them to do the right thing. So I respectfully suggest that we not patronize, such as with prescriptions for "develop[ing] a language of penance and conciliation" and "seiz[ing] an opportunity for redemption." Assuming the impeachment will go forward, the country is very much in the hands of the Senate. I believe giving Mr. Trump an official pass on this solicitation of foreign interference makes that - and everything else he has done in abuse of the powers of his office - officially acceptable. That places the president above the law, officially. The stakes are way too high here to be anything but understanding and supportive with the senators at a crossroads.
Republican redemption? That's an excellent joke. Republicans have shown already that they don't care about democracy, or decency for that matter. Why would they start now...
6
The Senate trial will be seen in history like the Dred Scott decision. We look back on the Dred Scott decision and shake our heads at the judges who ruled in the majority. We say today, "unbelievable, how could those judges have ruled that way".
We will say the same thing in the future for the Senate judges who rule not to convict Trump. Even if McConnell decides not to hold a trial, we will then shake our heads at McConnell, for being the cowardly sycophant and McConnell will go down in history as one of the most odious figures in American history.
That's why I think McConnell will hold a trial. He's going to want to spread the ignominy.
But that's why I think there's a good chance the Senate will convict; most or some Republican Senators, I hope, do not want to go down in history in the same way as the Dred Scott justices.
3
@Sirlar
As much as my hopes align with yours, I fear and assume that McConnell will stymy the procedure. How can he not? He's as corrupt and guilty as the rest of them, knee-deep in all sorts of machinations (the personal money factory that is the China connection through his wife and her family is just one of the many cogs in his wheel), and most importantly, he has spent his entire career working to arrive at this point of power. Why would he stop now? Why would he change? He doesn't have a moral bone in his body.
Kentucky, vote Amy McGrath 2020. This is where my current donations are going.
1
The impeachment question.
In 1973 while a woodworking student at a crafts school in Sussex, New Jersey, I prepared the following list of the Non-Criminal Grounds for the possible Impeachment of President Richard Nixon for a meeting with Republican Congressman Joseph Maraziti, a member of the House Judiciary Committee.
A Treatise on Federal Impeachments
Edited by Alexander Simpson, Jr., LLD,
Published 1916 and still in print.
Non-Criminal Grounds for Impeachment of a Federal Official:
1. Acting grossly in contravention of the duties of his Offices.
2. Giving misleading statements.
3. Unconstitutional opinions, in an attempt to subvert the fundamental Laws of the Land.
4. Attempt to exercise or introduce arbitrary powers.
5. Betrayal of his Public Trust.
6. Keeping in Public Office men whose conduct is detrimental to the Public Interest.
7. Removing from Office a person whose merit requires his continuance in the Office.
8. Wanton removal of Officers of the Government, subject to his authority.
9. Breach of the Public Trust, in the failure of the Executive to see that the Laws of the United States are faithfully executed.
10. Breach of the Public Trust, in an endeavor by the Executive to place himself above the Law.
11. Breach of the Public Trust by the Executive, in his failure to proceed against the Vice-President when the conduct of the Vice-President was disclosed to him.
12. Incompetence in Office.
11
Mr. Blow, you're very good at expressing indignation. But you know that the Senate will not remove Trump from office. You would be well-advised to use your own bully pulpit to warn the Democrats that they have to make a credible case to the voters why one of them should be in the White House instead of Mr. Trump. As of September 2019 month-end, pollsters and pundits are telling us that the Democrats have not made that case. Don't forget that they couldn't beat the reality-TV star in 2016. There could be a Democratic wave in 2020 that give Democrats both House and Senate but we could still have Mr. Trump as president. Impeaching the president would do nothing more than give Democrats an emotional catharsis. Of course, catharses are important to the Mommy party, but they do not win elections. How about a solid, credible platform on trade issues or - (heaven forfend!) - national security. What do the Democrats think about these issues. There is a CNN Town Hall on October 10th or 11th. Maybe they'll talk about national security then.
3
Perfectly put. Thank you, Mr.Blow.
2
But they can't do it, lest their acceptance of so much dirty Russian oligarch money, masquerading as NRA 'campaign donations' comes to light.
6
You are naive. The Republican Party today is now a criminal organization bent on taking down America if it would suit their pocket book and desire for power. Their only allegiance is to themselves. They represent no one but themselves. Their districts are gerrymandered for their party and not to fairly represent the people of their state. People do die from their decisions. Peoples lives are wasted. But they are never charged and no one ever goes to jail for it. Like any corporation they represent, they only gain personally from the upside and socialize the downside.
8
Regardless of whether they turn against Trump in the coming months, Republicans know that they will forever remembered for their cowardice, lack of integrity, and willful disregard of the ideals upon which this Country was founded. They have nothing for the American public and deserve to be remembered with disgust and opprobrium.
10
Completely agree. Thank you for writing this.
I remain equally aghast at not only the awfulness of trump (the chronic lies, sexual assaults, blatant racism, fraud, abuse, corruption & now treason - etc etc.) but at how the entire gop remains silent to the sheer evilness of their leader.
How do they sleep at night ???????
6
Charles, your column is heroic, inspiring...and dead wrong. There are not now, and there will never be 20 Republican senators who will vote to convict Trump in an impeachment trial. Trump will emerge unscathed. All those uneducated, racist superpatriots in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Florida will conclude Trump did none of the high crimes and misdemeanors Democrats and Mueller accused him of perpetrating. Trump will be re-elected. And then what will you write? OOPS?
First Democrats must take the Senate. Then impeach Trump.
5
Mr. Blow has not written one positive thing about President Trump since he knocked out his choice, Clinton. Well I consider myself a patriot and I believe in the Constitution. Not one item mentioned in this article is an impeachable offense. That will be proven by the vote in the Senate. The entire country is aware of the fact that the dems will do anything to take down the President. Rep. Schiff has really outdone himself this time. He had it wrong with the Muller fiasco and now he is going for seconds. He is a truly "deplorable" representative of the people from his district.
8
Well said Charles. We all need redemption at times in our lives. There is nothing disgraceful about seeking redemption. The disgrace arrives when you are afraid to ask for forgiveness, to ask for and act out the grace.
1
Republicans are already beyond redemption as politicians. The damage they have done to our polity, our judiciary, our planet is beyond their power to repair. It is a party that needs to be consigned to the dustbin of history along with their predecessors, the Whigs.
3
I don’t believe for a moment that Trump has a stranglehold on the Republican Party as Charles asserts; it has a stranglehold on him. If anyone thinks that political animals like McConnell would relinquish imperium to a former reality TV celebrity with no political credentials, then, respectfully, think again. Trump is the president because bloody minded ideologues thought it would serve their agenda. They made the presidency, they can break it too. It all depends on how much of the agenda they have achieved already, how unassailable it is, and how much more they want to achieve before they allow their man to languish and fade.
The reason why Trump survives scandal cycle after cycle is because his party and its acolytes like Barr are prepared to ruthlessly defend the orange decoy while the agenda unfolds. In talking to Zelensky, Trump revealed two men of shallow backgrounds pretending to be world leaders while the listeners knew the implications at both ends, accelerating into familiar damage control mode. This whistleblower has done the world a massive favour, but only if the world wants its leaders to be accountable. These men were elected out of electoral anger at the previous status quo, this anger is not yet sated.
11
IIRC, Plan B for DJT in 2016 was to start a TV channel. “Lots of people”, as he would say, “can’t wait to see me start this channel”, he shouldn’t keep them waiting too long, it’s “not fair”. Here’s hoping it is on by Christmas. I will be excited to send in my advance unsubscribe notice to it.
2
Given that half the Trump voters voted for him precisely because he acts this way, and most of the rest voted for him to get their precious anti abortion Supreme Court justices and don’t care about anything else, I see no reason why the Republicans will feel any reason to do anything whatsoever. Their voters have exactly what they wanted.
8
Charlie - I agree with your comment but I think that rather than attack Republican Senators as gutless, a gentler persuasion will work better. I say this even though they are gutless and even though in any case their vote might well be dictated by what the polling shows in their respective states.
Many Democrats have felt that impeachment is not the smart strategy. But they should know that smart has nothing to do with it. If the facts warrant impeachment, they should go ahead with it. If impeachment is warranted, doesn't this also make the Democrats who say "this will hurt us?" gutless?
By the way, what was the Senate smoking when it confirmed Bill Barr?
I also have a bone to pick with the Founding Fathers. I thought the piece of paper they put together was miraculous. But there's no effective way to deal with the most obviously unfit person to ever hold the Presidency. They didn't figure out a way to deal with a guy with a big mouth who commits crimes both secretly and right out in the open.
Finally, as always, Trump may have planted enough of a smear of Biden that he will have some heavy baggage if he gets the nomination.
2
"I refuse to believe that the totality of the Republican Party system is corrupt beyond the possibility of contrition..."
I wouldn't call you naïve, but look at their reaction to all of Trump's other crimes if you want to see the future.
Sure enough, they just launched another 'investigation' into Hillary's emails--the obvious cause of everything wrong in the world.
3
@DaDa
This investigation is 3 1/2 years in the making...long before trump.
1
I never liked Lindsay Graham's politics but there was a time I thought he was honest. That was just a few years ago.
4
"Will they [The Republicans] stand for the Constitution and the rule of law or will they stand for partisanship and political expediency?"
It seems to me that the Republicans have taken a secret oath to support and defend Trump, though they may have taken a public oath to support and defend the Constitution. That is the only explanation for their steadfast support for the current occupant of the White House who has flouted--and continues to flout--the rules, laws and conventions that have been supported by most of his predecessors, save for a few.
Expect Senate Majority Hypocrite McConnell to do everything in his power to ensure Trump survives.
Party over country. No exceptions.
3
Bravo, Mr. Blow. Trump's incredible impunity in so many arenas
of criminal activity has been driving me crazy. Every day we hear about another "unprecedented" action as he tramples on norms
hitherto accepted. This must stop or we will never recover our faith in the capacity of our country to recover from its errors and sins.
3
I hope that a few Republicans come to support the impeachment inquiry and, should it happen, actual articles of impeachment. However, I think we need to get all Democrats on board, too.
My US Representative is a DINO (Democrat In Name Only): forced-birther, voted for bankruptcy reform, voted against the ACA, weak on gun control, voted for mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, etc. My Representative is still fence-sitting about the impeachment inquiry, basically claiming that it’s a waste of time if the impeachment process is not bipartisan.
I guess that breaking laws, rules, protocol, norms, ethics, and decorum are all right — as long as there’s no bipartisan support against such behaviors.
Quick! Clear the court dockets! Empty the jails and prisons! Put an end to probation and parole! Free the people from their ankle monitors! Nothing matters anymore... or do behaviors only matter, only require corrective actions, for the many but not the privileged few?
3
As with Watergate, the investigation will discover more offenses. Since Trump demanded loyalty of subordinates but has not been loyal in return, those who participated in his schemes will tell all, so they will not be made scape-goats. There will be a Russian connection, too; Trump was not only trying to throw shade on Biden, he was trying to deflect blame from Russia onto Ukraine for 2016 election interference and to weaken Ukraine further in its conflict with Russia by withholding military aid. Trump's supporters like him, but they do not share his support of Putin. As more details emerge, the picture will get bleaker and bleaker for Trump, and Republican Senators will worry more about being seen as defenders of a traitor. And Trump will look for a Nixonian exit--he will negotiate a full pardon in exchange for his resignation.
2
@MEM
The only glitch in your very hopeful scenario is that Trump can't exit through resignation with a full pardon—I am assuming that he could only be pardoned for crimes as president, but not for the slew of crimes for which he will be prosecuted in NY State. HIs goose is cooked unless he can protect himself until the statute of limitations runs out on the state criminal procedures against him. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
2
@MEM If he resigned right now, Pence would pardon him instantly. That perhaps would happen, were it not for ... the State of New York!