Every few weeks I call Representative Scott Tipton, and Senator Cory Gardner's offices, and ask what they are doing to protect our country from their party's dismantling of all of the great traditions and institutions that have long protected our democracy, and ask when they will have the courage to stand up for country over party. They answer with the party line: They're awaiting the evidence that the president did something wrong. Mountains of evidence exist; at very least, who in their right mind would believe a word this "president" says? The current batch of Republicans in congress are clearly traitors for allowing Russia to subvert our election process, leading to the election of "Mafia Don". They have no courage, decency, or patriotism; I repeat: they are traitors.
47
Neither "facts" nor "please" are recognized words in the republican vocabulary these days.
25
First of all, Republicans get elected by rigging the game. It all started with Jefferson who stole the electoral votes of seven hundred thousand slaves to scrape together his election in 1800. It's been Jim Crow ever since. Getting help from the Russians is SOP for these guys. They see nothing wrong with it.
8
From your mouth to God's ear...
Republicans and facts rarely interact.
14
Republicans stopped believing in facts the second they endorsed Trump and his "birther" conspiracy. Telling the truth means admitting you are wrong and somehow they have made this seem like a sign of weakness and not the sign of strength that it actually is. Here is the truth, a poor person in China has more upward mobility possibilities than a poor person in the United States. That is what happens when people believe everything should be left to businesses and private individuals as opposed to having a mix of public and private organizations. As long as Republicans continue to ignore facts, this trend and decline in the United States will continue and people like Trump will rise up to blame all their troubles on everyone else instead of acknowledgement of their own stupidity.
13
I am sure that Alexander Hamilton could not have imagined that the whole senate party of a corrupt President would be as morally bankrupt, corrupt, and spineless as the President who needs to be impeached.
17
Facts? Whose facts? Facts espoused by Gorton? Trump? Fox? CNN? NYT? People will believe facts that best suit their interests while ignoring those that are "inconvenient". Relatedly, certain facts are hidden to advance a certain narrative. Read the impeachment transcripts and based on one's worldview and party affiliation, different conclusions are drawn.
Finally a SC republican who I am not embarrassed by.
https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article237665149.html
Inglis reiterated what Trump is alleged to have done is worse that what Clinton did.
“The Clinton matter in its essence was marital infidelity, very regrettable and very unfortunate, but not at the heart of the functioning of the American government,” Inglis said. “This is at the heart of our government.”
19
A drop of water in a whole pool of nasty. This one man of integrity won't move the mark. GOP is rotten from the inside.
11
Now, if only more Republicans could grow a backbone ... and then do the right thing.
The present rag-tag collection of GOP in Congress are leaving a putrid stain on that hallowed institution that will not soon be forgotten by responsible people.
11
The senate might be afraid of a shooting squad if they disagree with trump. Sound crazy? We have learned that the white house will do anything for allegiance to their leader and firing squad led by barr.
4
"Is there an offense serious enough to undo the results of the 2016 election?"
What a stupid Republican talking point. This impeachment is not about un-doing anything. It is about making a statement that there is a lack of confidence in the President and evidence of criminality.
When a criminal is sent to prison, it isn't about "undoing" their life. It's about punishing them for specific criminal acts.
16
Drop the R/republican or D/democrat branding, and open your common sense insight abilities. Then grab the two lists from these two groups, and have someone do the due diligence -- someone who can avoid [1] colorful language, [2] colloquialisms, [3] superlatives, [4] hyperbole, [5] irony, [6] "grunts and winks" ... all of which are the filler for anything that is not a true fact. Follow the facts, yes, and follow the money.
3
Money is ruining our elections. It's creating a power hungry avaricious class. Soon there will be a permanent minority party ruling the majority. We will be just like the rest of the world in crisis. If we do not stand up for the founders intentions we are doomed. Republicans like Mr. Gorton have to keep talking to republicans because they sure won't listen to anyone else.
106
The so-called Republicans offer nothing but belly-aching and childish theatrics to the damning facts of the impeachment inquiry.
They attempt to add the argument that Democrats are trying to undo the 2016 election.
Yet by their obstruction of the impeachment inquiry, Republicans are themselves attempting to steal the power of the people -- these are our representatives investigating the president. To obfuscate or crudely block this legitimate inquiry, the Republicans themselves are destroying our Constitutionally based, democratic form of governance.
I agree with other readers. Mr. Gorton has the evidence that his so-called Republican party is derailing our Constitutional powers here and he should renounce membership in his party for that reason.
8
Most commenters here would seem to be too blind to have noticed, but Joe Biden was the original Ukraine shakedown artist, with son Hunter sweeping up the cash as it fell all around in lumps and installments. The Bidens really did a great job of establishing the ethical boundaries for corruption in Ukraine, as in no boundaries.
You people are really fools for turning a blind eye. All of the impeachment hearing witnesses claiming lack of knowledge really stretches credulity.
The Biden corruption actually happened. Joe threatened to withdraw aid if his targeted prosecutor was not canned. When he got his way (through bribery), some fraction of the one billion dollar compliance bribe (aid and loan guarantees) went to Burisma.
Sorry partisans, but this is really disgusting. Your apoplectic about Trump just talking about possible conditions on aid, but when ol Joe commits an actual train robbery you’re curiously silent.
Really dumb politically, on you’re part.
3
Slade Gordon makes me proud to be a native Washingtonian. He's the voice of a Republican Party that once upon a time did put the nation above petty partisanship. Today's Republican Party has, instead, opted to abandon all principle. They are the enemy John Adams feared.
8
Unfortunately your fellow Republicans don't believe facts, unless of course they come via the uninformed opinion of a conservative blowhard railing away in front of a microphone for hours a day. It's an unfair advantage Republicans enjoy over Democrats at the peril of the country - copious amounts of cynism. I wouldn't trust a Republican to admit 2+2=4 if to do so contradicted the current position of the Republican appartus.
5
Has anyone listened to senator John Kennedy ? He has expressed the republican view perfectly. We have our set of facts and you have yours . It’s like trying to argue or debate with a flat earthier.
11
Nice article, too bad he is preaching to the choir by publishing in NYT, better in Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner. Maybe he can appear on Fox & Friends, Hannity, or Carlson and say the same. Hopefully, he will address the people he is trying to convince rather than the people already convinced.
8
A simple question which has yet to be answered: Which law was violated? We are a country governed by written laws not Sharia. Withholding or conditioning foreign aid on specific actions is something that all Presidents have done, including Obama. It is not illegal. Even illegal acts (e.g. Bill Clinton's admitted perjury) are not always sufficient to justify impeachment. But we haven't even reached that threshold here.
Then the fall back position is to consider whether the Presidents actions were not taken in the best interest of the US. Presumably it is in our interest to know if Presidential candidates have used their offices to benefit their children. We already know this is the case with Trump but he is not the only one who has done so given the evidence against Biden.
If the people believe that Trump misused his office for personal benefit to the detriment of the nation they will have the opportunity to vote him out in less than a year.
Alternatively, if you believe (as Slade does) that taking action to launch an investigation of your political rival is an impeachable offense, then surely the Obama administration should be investigated for misusing its power and fabricating evidence to justify a FISA wiretap of candidate Trump. There can be no double standards here.
1
I wasn't a supporter of Slade Gorton when he was a Republican Senator in our state many years ago but I support what he has to say now. I wish other Republicans had the courage to speak out against Trump.
3
Mr Gordon, you did the patriotic thing by asking for Nixon’s resignation. What Nixon did was antithetical to constitutional authority. There’s no difference in the scope of Trumps misdeeds. The difference is the GOP. The current GOP is populated by cowardly, hypocritical cultists. They are unable to do anything against the party line, constitution be damned.
5
1. Time for stricter laws about going into the field of lobbying after leaving a government position.
2.Time for laws about term limits for Congressional Representatives and Senators.
3 Time for rotating out judges, not only SCOTUS but other lifetime judgeships as well.
4. The electoral college should be retired because it does not fairly represent the people of the United States.
There has got to be a better way, but those entrenched in the present unfair system are those in charge. It works for their personal rather than the country's and its people's benefit.
But one can hope.
6
I've watched all the hearings/testimonies. At the end of the day, no one had first hand knowledge of any wrongdoing. They had impressions and opinions, but nothing more. Sondland started out strong; I thought, this is it Trump's busted. But then he had to say that his opening statement was just his impression and he had nothing more. It felt as though the witnesses wished they could say for sure, but in the end could not. Anyone that lives in the US knows this is not the way our justice system works. You cannot just 'think' something happened a certain way. You cannot just say you believe things should be done a certain way when you're not in charge and it's just your opinion. Even though the witnesses were obvious professionals, it doesn't mean their opinions carry weight. If the president said he felt he was being blackmailed or coerced, that would be different too.
At the end of the days time spent, the only thing I came to realize was that the Ukraine is corrupt and remains so. Every witness corroborated that fact. Money/weapons should be given only with accountability.
Not a fan, but this is not impeachment material.
2
Mr. Groton refers to what history will say in the future. I ask, will there be an honest history in the future or will our democracy crumble to the point that history will be rewritten to satisfy the lies of those who are willing to destroy our democracy? One should no longer laugh this off as a conspiracy theory.
1
And follow the money republicans. Ask yourselves why Trump didn’t investigate during his first 2 years. The Ukrainian malfeasance he is horrified by all happened prior to his inauguration.
No way John Kelly would have allowed it.
However it was a perfect storm in year 3. Mulvaney the head of OMB held the keys to the kingdom. Trump had the best person to play with the money. (OMB's predominant mission is to assist the President in overseeing the preparation of the Federal budget and to supervise its administration in Executive Branch agencies)
Trump admitted Biden threatened his reelection.
The continuing resolutions delayed the budget approval into the new year
Shortly thereafter a new Ukrainian government elected so a McConnell maneuver was hatched.
Wake up republicans - the guy many of you maligned before elected and now worship the dirt he walks on is a criminal. You are aiding & abetting.
3
ALL. yes, EVERY SINGLE COMMENT HEREIN express the SHAMEFUL reality the US finds itself in. That reality ( most probably) will remain, propagated by the likes of Reps
Jim Gordon, devin Nunes, Elise Stefanick and their “ comrades in arms”.
As was written in one of these comments:
I’m not religious- but god help us all.
4
Is the learned gentleman really agreeing that Trump is a scoundrel with clearly-corroborated charges of impeachable offenses that should be forwarded by all to the Senate for conviction, or, as I’m afraid, is he really suggesting a diabolical way to gain Republican advantage from the situation?
The read-between-the lines strategy: Republicans, enough of you in super safe seats vote against Trump (with his approval, of course) this round. “See, we respect the process,” you can say. “Constitution ‘r’ us.” In the Senate trial, the addition of a few friendly witnesses can muddy the waters enough—certainly in the Fox News arena—to give Republicans much better cover to acquit despite the preponderance of evidence because, well, you’d want to be darn sure to vote to overturn the will of the people like those horrible Democrat folks would twist the Constitution to try do. But we Republicans, we’re patriots and we’ll protect America for Americans.
Imagine! Imagine a current Republican Senator standing up and saying, "Enough! I just can't do this anymore! The corruption is too deep, and the facts are too clear!" Sure, his fellow Republican officeholders would gasp wide-eyed at the sheer audacity of daring to step out of line.
Ah, but the rest of us...we would see that lone, brave individual, willing to stand apart and alone, hoping to reclaim the shreds of his/her tattered soul. And history would see a hero. Forever remembered as The One (maybe just the 1st one?) who refused to go on marching lockstep with fact-denying cowards bent on taking themselves and the rest of the nation off the cliff.
I can dream, can't I?
1
If cheating is acceptable, that is, if the facts confirm that Trump bribed Zelensky to help him smear Biden, yet he suffers no consequences, then really aren't all bets off? If (almost) every Republican congressperson allows cheating to be an acceptable tactic, then where are we? It seems to me that the game we thought we were playing is over. So Democrats, how do you plan to win, again, ever?
3
Alas, Senator Gorton and his colleague Senator Dan Evans represent a major failing of the Republican party. This is much more than too little, too late. Both of these "elder statesmen" of the party had an obligation to speak out several years ago. Speak out in no uncertain terms. Both failed to do so. Both, therefore, have been complicit. I am not impressed.
1
Kudos to my state's ex-senator! He makes a cogent and compelling case for his fellow Republicans to adhere to the law and the facts.
However, even if Trump were ultimately impeached by the House and removed by the Senate, that would in no way "undo" the results of the 2016 presidential election, just as Nixon's resignation prior to his inevitable impeachment didn't "undo" his 49 state landslide reelection less than two years earlier.
If anything was "undone" regarding the 2016 election, it was Hillary Rodham Clinton's victory by a margin of almost three million votes that was undone by that anachronistic and antidemocratic institution called the Electoral College.
2
Sadly, this will fall on deaf ears. Today's gop is operating in an altered state; so far it seems to be working for them. It is stunning to see how our history is being discarded like a piece of gum. Hopefully, it will stick on the bottom of their shoes so that it will get their attention eventually.
1
Glad to hear a voice identifying as Republican offering something akin to a review of facts. If only for history's sake, other Republicans, past and present, need to step up to the plate of public commentary and reveal what they're experiencing.
2
If you believe there should be fact-led deliberations, you are not a Republican, although you have not accepted this fact. You still want to belong to the club and think of yourself as still being a member, but the club has changed and people like you are no longer welcome, although the club will still accept your vote, your money, and your endorsement, and will use your reputation to add to its strength.
Your party has moved on, and you are now a conservative Democrat. You believe in limited government under the rule of law and the facts, and the Republican Party doesnt. So, along with many other former Republicans, you are now a conservative Democrat who does not have the strength to accept current political reality, and instead you confuse both yourself and others by calling yourself a name that no longer belongs to you and does not reflect who you are.
Getting you to continue in this state of confusion helps the current Republican Party survive and prosper.
6
It seems that the Republican Members of Congress have already decided the President is guilty of the offenses being investigated. How else to explain their lackluster effort to surface clarifying, mitigating, or exculpatory information on his behalf?
5
Why does Slade Gordon feel the need to define impeachment as to "undo the results of the 2016 election"? Here he is, arguing to follow the facts, while simultaneously leading the reader astray by characterizing impeachment as undoing an election versus holding a president accountable for their actions.
It was an otherwise good article, but fell flat there.
6
This article shows why Republicans are good at winning elections: messaging. While the Democrats routinely invoke a foreign tongue -- "quid pro quo" -- to describe President Trump's actions, a Republican uses American's native language (English) to elegantly describe the President's behavior: shakedown.
And "shakedown" is the word Dems should start using. Now.
5
The Republican party has been compromised, from top to bottom. They will eliminate our civil rights to stay in power.
9
I wish you, and every other participant in commenting on this issue, would stop using the term "undue the election." If Trump is removed from office, Hillary Clinton does not become President. Pence does, to everyone's dismay, but the 2016 election is not undone. The only thing that happens is the criminal is removed from the White House.
8
Perhaps, somewhere deep in the shriveled hearts of the GOP apparatchiks attempting to create enough of a smokescreen for Trump and his enablers to skate on these charges, there exists a pure and uncorrupted core.
I have seen no evidence of that.
I wish Sen Gorton luck in his exhortations to that core.
5
I have been frustrated that Republicans refuse to speak up and asked a friend why some of the good Republicans (and I believe there are some) won't risk standing up to this embarrassment of a 'leader'. She had a simple answer that explained it all: he gets to pack the courts with conservatives that will change the country for years to come. For years and years and years in order to reverse gains made by anyone that isn't a white male.
4
Is any of this getting through to any Republicans in congress? I don't think so.
3
While I appreciate these thoughts from yet another retired Republican legislator, I cannot help but ask: Senator Gorton, given the utter moral and ethical bankruptcy of the current Republican party, why do you still identify as Republican? You can still evolve. You were not BORN republican!
132
@Matt Because the Democrats are equally bad, Matt. As I posted, there is no center anymore. He would be better off doing as I do and become an Independent and choose very carefully for whom to vote. I couldn't stand Trump or Hillary and so voted for Evan McMullen of Utah who received 23% of Utah's votes. He is a principled man. Yes, that is 'throwing my vote away' in the larger scheme of things but.....I keep my integrity of choice.
5
Former Senator Gorton puts forward his laudable argument on a mistaken assumption: that he has "fellow" Republicans in Congress. The Republican Party that Gorton belonged to died long ago, and Republicans like him are endangered species.
12
I strenuously object to the wording "undo the election".
Impeachment does not "undo an election" that occurred 3 years ago. It doesn't undo the past 3 years. It just removes a person from office (if convicted) so that they can do no further harm.
13
I remember when Arizona's Republican Senator Barry Goldwater, reviled by the left and loved by the right, became one of the first of his party to publicly call for President Nixon's resignation. That call was the turning point. I have given up on the possibility that a sitting Republican Senator will come forward and follow Goldwater's example. Senators Romney, Rubio, Collins, Gordon, Murkowski, etc., where's your conscience?
12
When Nixon resigned, he did not 'undo' the previous election. Should Trump be impeached and leave office, it will not 'undo' the previous election. In both cases the office of President was (and hopefully will be) vacated by abusers of Presidential power. History will record forevermore that Richard Nixon was the person who won the 1972 Presidential Election and Donald Trump was the person who won the 2016 Presidential Election.
'Undo the election' is Republican speak. Such words suggest that something has been stolen from those who voted for Trump. That is why Republicans use them.
Fortunately for them, 'Uphold the Constitution' doesn't have the drunken appeal of 'Lock Her (or Him) Up'. It isn't very catchy, either. In fact, the adherents appear immune.
7
I have read some articles by patriotic Republicans that denounce Trump, the problem is these people are not in office. US Representatives and US Senators are keeping their mouths shut, as much as possible. Surprising that these powerful elected officials are so frightened to speak their minds, or stand up for honesty and decency. I really never knew just how shallow and weak these people are. Before Trump I never really thought that this country could sink so low, that one man, despicable as he is, could bring our country to such a shameful place. It took Trump to show me just how weak our democracy can be. Power corrupts, absolutely power corrupts absolutely and elected Republicans are responsible for this. So many Americans just do not care what Trump does, it's so hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this man may be re-elected. We recovered from the civil war, the great depression, World wars, Vietnam. How long will it take to recover from Trump?
9
@Linda I share your sentiments but would respectfully disagree with a couple of your assertions. I do not believe that the United States has truly recovered from the Civil War nor the VietNam War. The divisions created by those catastrophes still have an outsized influence on our politics and culture. Moreover, what does Trump and his cult say about us collectively as a people? Not to absolve Trump of his malfeasance, ignorance and venality but he didn’t become President by himself or exclusively by those who voted for him.
2
Preaching to the choir. Trump supporters are not reading this.
5
Nice try, Mr. Gorton. How noble and decent you sound in your letter. But where, oh where, have you been for the last few years? If an alien from another universe were to read your letter, she would think the Republicans had just recently behaved in this undemocratic and unconstitutional behavior, whereas, as everyone knows, this has been going on for years. This President's administration has repeatedly behaved in a manner that has shaken our democracy to its core.
You know, as we all do, that the Republicans will never do the right thing. They have made that abundantly clear. My guess is that this is your legacy letter: Look at how I stood up for the right thing. Sorry, not buying it. The party you represented all your life has evolved into a power-hungry, greedy, angry mob. And you and your Republican colleagues allowed this to happen. That's your legacy.
7
Sorry, the Republican Party you remember is no longer there... The replacement of Trump's captives has completed
3
Yes. facts are stubborn things, but if one side tries to hide them, they will be so slow in coming out, that their only value will be to historians trying to explain why we plunged off a cliff.
5
The Walter Cronkite Republican notes: well said!
1
"Facts are stubborn things" seems to now be replaced by Trump and many Republicans view that "alternative facts" are even better. And best of all are conspiracy theories. Process complaints and conspiracy theories were going head to head in the hearings. I didn't keep count, so I'm not sure which one won.
3
This a great opinion, but it fails to address the problems and solutions needed to bring the country together.
There are three groups of Republicans that no one can get around: First, Republicans in the house cannot waver from the party line because so many of them are beholding to the Tea Party movement for their jobs. To many, a congressional salary and perks represent a sort of Valhalla that none of them ever expected to reach. Like lemmings they'll continue to follow the leader over the cliff to the very end: Second, the uneducated, unemployed, unskilled white males who are mad at the whole world because their basic talent, intellect and skills are limited to crushing beer cans on their foreheads, and: Third are the retired military.
This last group has been subjected to a failing VA medical system, and; the endless wars from Korea, to Vietnam, to the Middle East; leading to the lack of acknowledgement of the hero status accorded to their fathers and grandfathers following WW-II.
The anger found among these three groups will work as a glue to keep strongly partisan Republicans united no matter what.
We need to elect a leader who is acceptable to both left and right, none of the current candidates meet that standard.
4
The final defense-a president has absolute authority to condition foreign aid on any requirement that is not illegal. A Ukrainian investigation is not illegal. Therefore El Presidente did nothing wrong. Senate acquits on that basis. The American people have the final say in November 2020. We the jury.
4
@Eric Harold: Foreign aid is funded by Congress in legislation the president signs. Then it is law.
6
@Eric Harold
Trump didn’t stop aid to Ukraine in the first 2 fiscal years of his reign The stuff of trumps investigations happened before his inauguration. Why now?
Maybe because he knew he had to demolish Bidens campaign. He did admit Biden was the only candidate who threatened his reelection
I’m standing by for an explanation for the first 2 years. And didn’t he have a republic on majority in Congress. He could have done anything then including incredible healthcare but I digress!
2
@Eric Harold The President, if concerned, has an army of staff to 'investigate'. The stubborn FACT, that he 'investigated' through Rudy Guilliani, and NO ONE in the legal Departments of your USA Government, knew why the aid was held up, may not be 'illegal'. However, 'illegal' is not the standard here.
Abuse of Power, and Bribery are the 'legal' terms the Articles of Impeachment might cite. No one, NO ONE, should hold higher standards of 'legality' than your supposed President.
Yet here you all are, arguing that those standards must be lowered, because Donald J Trump's sleazy behaviour, is something to aspire to?
2
Anyone defending this president for this crime is guilty as an accomplice to the very same crime. Supporting America's enemies in time of conflict is treason. At any time that any of these defenders speak up, they must immediately be charged with the crime of treason. There are severe penalties for treason. This rule applies to any of the defenders, even if they are members of congress. Traitors, all of them.
5
You are indeed howling at the moon, sir.
We have a mob boss as President, who has surrounded himself with fellow mobsters who are too busy picking the pockets of tax payers (and corporations) while they cry foul and shed crocodile tears. Are you expecting the godfather's goons to kill the mafia boss? They're laughing all the way to bank and have no interest in killing their fatted calf.
Shame on them and shame on us for keeping his goons in office election after election. When their crimes finally come to light, the states that elected these good fellows (Kentucky, et al.) should lose at least one half of their federal funding. Maybe then, they'll pay more attention to exactly who they're sending to Congress.
3
I wonder what John McCain would say if he were still alive.
4
Would he condemn the Bidens and members of Congress who have enriched themselves as a part of foreign relations? or do you think McCain would have joined in (and given his daughter some different occupation than daytime TV talk shows)?
1
This seems almost quaint.
Today's Republicans will never, ever put country above party. They will do anything, up to and including betray their constituents and the national interest itself, to hold their grip on power.
They don't care about what is right, what is moral, what is true. They care only about staying in office, reaping the rewards of privilege and money.
That's it.
359
And the irony, we can only hope, is that by doing so they will accomplish the exact opposite.
25
They also care about punishing people who don’t look like them or worship like them.
38
If there is any justice in the world, let this be so
12
Senator Gorton, you’re fishing in the wrong ocean. All of the current Republican Congress critters are codfish, and you’re using the wrong bait.
1
The Republicans' denial of facts goes far beyond any impeachment hearing. Start with everything included within the solar system,and then work your way out. Maybe you will find Obama's Kenyan birth certificate on some lonely planet. Perhaps that health care plan that was ready to go in 2016? Maybe that Mexican money order for the wall? Maybe Obama's Jade Helm battle plan? The Sandy hook script and stage directions? Scalia's poison vial? Foster's broken neck? Pizzagate's basement?
Let us know when you get to Pluto. We'll send thoughts and prayers.
6
Thank you, Slade Gorton.
1
« ....Please follow the facts.. » . Fine until you accept the world of alternate facts.
You can then follow them down alternate rabbit holes.
1
Bwaahahahah. Yeah, like that'll happen.
1
I'd like to know WHY you still consider them "your fellow Republicans." If you still identify with this criminal enterprise, you must be part of it. You really think you can fix it from within? You need to quit, and stop giving them the support of calling yourself one of them. I think you protest to much. Kind of suspicious.
1
Fat chance.
1
Ukraine was getting a shakedown only it was from Joe Biden. "If you don't fire the prosecutor, you don't get the billion dollars." Funny I am not seeing this video in the left wing news, only crickets.
2
@Steve. You seem to believe anything’s OK if someone else did it before.
If you think Biden is truly guilty, then maybe that should *also* be investigated.
But whether or not Biden is guilty doesn’t change whether trump is guilty.
5
No, you are getting the Fox News story. The video was an outtake to make it appear that Biden was guilty. The video shows his delight as well as that of European leaders and the IMF welcoming the ouster of Shulkin, a corrupt man, from his position. Biden was Obama’s person working on that issue. Ukraine needed to clean up their act before getting monetary help from Europe, the US and the IMF.
3
@Rick W
Besides which, Biden's carrot/stick was about whether a corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor got fired or not. Funny how that unfortunate fact always seems to get left out of the pro-Trump side's narrative. Perhaps it doesn't fit.....
3
Oh, if only we COULD undo an election! That's not what impeachment is. Impeachment addresses crimes SINCE the election. NYT, please stop Republicans from using this phrase on your pages; it is false and misleading and only adds to the problem.
4
If you had an iota of integrity you'd cease identifying as a Republican.
2
Wow, Obama, Fast and Furious, no impeachment. IRS Scandal. No impeachment, Benghazi (Men died), No impeachment, If these are not impeachable offenses, then nothing is. Also, If Biden is so "clean" what is the problem???
2
Those were all investigated ad nauseum by Congressional R’s.
3
If this article appeared in the Washington Times or on some other conservative platform it might matter. But since it is the Times bubble, it will have no effect on all the Republicans who won’t read it, meaning virtually all of them.
3
Sir, your party is no longer one that reflects your values. I truely wish it did.
3
Too little too late
1
Your fellow Republicans are hanging on to their $175,000 salary and free healthcare jobs for dear life. They don't care about us or our country. They are seeing it destroyed by the monster criminal self admitted woman molester tax cheat Russian agent in the WH. Our civility and tolerance destroyed by his calls to white supremacy and his government's dehumanization of minorities; our military dishonored by praising and pardoning war criminals and deporting war heroes; by allowing unconscionable acts of cowardice like abandoning the Kurds and Syrians to his master Putin and Ergodan of Turkey, another murderous dictator; naming his own inexperienced and dishonest thieving family members to be part of the government as if we were a monarchy; they support a self admitted woman molester in the WH and a rapist in the Supreme Court... Unfortunately for us objective, ethical folk, we all are suffering the consequences of their stupidity and traditional Republican self interest; but so will they. This is no time for orthodoxy; this is time to unite and save America from this nightmare.
5
These are fine and decent and important words to fling with unhappy futility into the dark bottomless maw of dishonesty and hypocrisy that Senator Gorton’s party has become.
1
If you think appealing to Republicans to participate in the process and let the facts win out will work you are sadly mistaken. You plea, “If the president is innocent, use the process to surface those exculpatory facts...” as though this will somehow get the Republicans to stop attacking the process.
The republicans are not ignorant of the facts. They know what the facts are. They don’t want the facts exposed. They will attack the process because the process is damning to them and they have no chance if the facts are allowed to speak for themselves without the avalanche of lies and misdirection the republicans have used to attack the process.
4
What a lovely sentiment. Now get it get someone to read it out loud on Fox and Friends. Or better yet, go stick your neck out yourself and say it.
What, you think that would never happen? Of course not. And that's the problem.
1
You may as well be spitting in the wind Mr. Gordon. You will not reach Congressional Republicans on the New York Times opinion page. The NYT is "fake news" to them.
Go on Fox & Friends, there's where you will find Republicans. But gird yourself sir; you will be laughed at, shouted down, and treated like the enemy, like Democrats are.
2
Slade,
The Republican party is a stinking, rotten corpse. The party's greed and bigotry have eaten from the inside out. There's nothing left but a bunch of traitors bowing down to Putin. Find another party.
1
Lest we not forget the oath of office taken by all members of the House:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
Regrettably, it looks like only the final sentence is in play for many of the Republicans.
2
Follow the facts? But those are 'inconvenient' and may interfere with the GOP's usurping of total control.
2
So, should we assume the Republican Senators who are meeting with Trump are gathering facts? Or not? I’d say from the silence of Mr. Romney and others, Not!
1
Facts are indeed stubborn things. Assuming everything is true that the Democrats allege, NOTHING HAPPENED and Joe Biden's son getting a no show job with a corrupt Ukrainian company was disgraceful. Case closed.
2
Yes, as disgraceful as the Trump family making deals with foreign leaders, selling books while your father is the President, having two family members working in the White House while having absolutely no experience. None of this is illegal, but it should be!
1
Mr. Gorton, as usual, underestimates the avarice of his own party, a criminal organization that long ago abandoned any sense of duty to their oath of office. The notion that any one of them is capable of objective analysis at this point is laughable, as is Mr. Gorton these days. Too bad...I voted for him, but that was long ago.
As Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously stated "You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts." Of course, that was pre the original Faux News: Fox. Constitution above personality, and country over party any day of the week. Take heed bullit chinned Republicans, this will ultimately end very badly for you all.
What was the shakedown? An unfulfilled promise to investigate whether a political opponents son was engaged in influencing peddling? Egads, the sky is falling! Impeach!!
2
By upholding funds voted on by Congress for your own political interests, not those of the American people whom you represent. It may work in business, but not government. Attempted bribery !
4
Simply, thank you.
I don't want to change the election, I want to get rid of a criminal.
5
Thank you! I appreciate your words.
The NYT needs to make it easy for many, many more nationally known Republican voices who respect facts to speak.
I'm tired of hearing Opinions, etc. preaching to the already converted choir. It is a great idea for retired Senator Gorton (R) to speak to his fellow Republicans via the NYT.
Please enlist more and more of this.
1
Facts are willed by Republicans just as the universe was willed by God.
Nice appeal but 100% wishful thinking. GOP´s Senators are at least as criminal as Mr. Trump, if not worse! They will defend their own privileges and will not impeach their Boss. Only the American people will have the possibility of cleaning America of this dangerous Mafia in the next election. God save America!
Just not clear to the Ukrainian President.
Your problem, Mr Gorton, is that the people you think are republicans, are not.
2
I am hoping this article will pry loose those who are hesitating to speak out but would relieve their conscience if they did. Well Mr. Romney? Anyone else?
113
@Bob in NM, what good is "speaking out," ie, Jeff Flake, Romney, when over and again the few that dare say a word outside the party mandate then once again fall in fall, and vote in line? Their words are empty and their votes have no conscience.
I have no respect for Romney, I do believe he was just hosted at the White House days ago.
These so called Republicans are a disgrace to what this party once represented.
15
Without reading this story, but only glancing at the headline, I figured this is a guy who has retired or is about to retire -- and sure enough, I was right. No current Republican senator is going to buck the President; they are all doormats who only find their spine when they are halfway out the door.
1
I see a lot of people are completely disillusioned and I don’t blame them, but we have to change our mindset. Yes, the senate is filled with republicans who have no interest in upholding the constitution, but the more honorable republicans speak out, the better. Thank you, Mr. Gorton, for your clarity. There are people listening.
1
How quaint. A classic Republican lecturing today's rabid right wingers who have taken over his party. Surprised by unintended consequences? Senator Gorton deserves some of the blame for the current situation because of his support of extreme GOP positions during his last term as my senator from WA. We were happy to vote for and elect Murray and Cantwell instead.
1
A truly noble and forthright article on the current situation in American politics.
The facts are that voters in key states rejected the Democrats and Republicans in 2016. They picked a dictator hoping that he would deliver the goods ( well paying jobs) to the lower middle class. The Republicans got the memo and are guarding Trump.
Since Trump isn't getting the job done for the lower middle class, the Republicans will suffer, only if the Democrats illustrate their plan for well paying jobs. People want jobs, not safety nets
The Republican Party has lost its moral compass. Over time historians will highlight the legacy of republicans who are ignoring the facts and are trying to discredit every government officials who are testifying.
1
Mr. Gorton, the "party over country" mantra so devoutly followed by ALL republicans has it's origins in a time when you were in congress. In other words, you are partly to blame for this. Thanks for that. Anything you have to say on this rings hollow, and is quite a bit too late.
Sen. Gorton is addressing a party that no longer exists. The one that has taken over the old Republican name has now fully embraced the concept that used to be known as "Marxist-Leninist truth": Only those things can be considered "true" that adhere to the line of the movement as laid down by its leaders. Things that might be considered "lies" under pre-movement concepts of fact may be "true." The test of "truth" is that it serves unified adherence to the Party line, and the test of the individual adherent is unwillingness to seek or defend any other source of "truth."
Back in the day, Republicans pointed to things like this in Party documents as evidence of Communist depravity. But times change.
3
Thank you, Mr. Slade for your service to our country.
Thank you for your courage to stand up - to speak out - to voice you would vote for Nixon's Impeachment.
Thank you for - now - having the courage to stand up - to speak out to all Americans - especially Republicans who have sadly become Trump Cult Followers - choosing to put their fingers in their ears and cover their eyes to the facts - to the truth.
Keep reaching out - visibly and behind the scenes to Republicans to unplug their ears and to uncover their eyes to hear and see the factual truth.
Trump believes - if, he says there was no - Quid Pro Quo - then it is true -- the fallacy in this is - Trump is not US LAW.
3
Americans keep looking for a "leader" to stand up FOR the rule of law, decency and competence. Trump and all of the Republican politicians that have enabled him need to be voted out. Folks, it's up to us.
If we want all of this to stop we need to organize both locally and nationally to VOTE BLUE, NO MATTER WHO.
1
The facts: THE S&P 500 INDEX HAS HIT AN ALL-TIME HIGH
More 401K Millionaires then at any other time. These two facts alone with Elizabeth Warren as an opponent will ensure a 46 State victory for President Trump. At which point he will shout out thanks to all the Democrats involved in the "impeachment" trial for helping him gain a 2nd term.
1
Former Senator Gordon should be publishing this letter in conservative media. If they would allow it...
3
Sad to say, Republicans are emboldened by past Democratic actions of not removing Clinton and stonewalling on Fast and Furious subpeonas. Tis a slippery slope, and we are gaining momentum on our fall.
Republicans would do the right thing, if they were not cow-towing to a constituancy largely made up of fools that thought Mexico would buy us a wall.
Given that the author voted against convicting WJC on the indisputable charge of perjury, his views should be taken with a grain of salt.
Let’s be clear: if all the Dems have is that DT demanded an investigation into possible corruption – regardless of the target – that comes under the heading of “yawn. So what?”
Again, consider: if the “shakedown” worked, and an investigation resulted, there were only two possible outcomes:
(A) it turns up nothing, in which case there is no benefit to DT;
(B) it turns up “dirt”, in which case the beneficiaries are the people of the US – who shouldn’t be electing “dirty” Presidents - and, perhaps unintentionally, the Democratic Party, which should be loath to nominate another “dirty” candidate, as such “dirt” has a way of coming out inconveniently (as when one of their chief campaign strategists falls for a phishing scheme, thereby revealing to the world how Democrats talk when they think no one is listening.)
This entire, ginned-up narrative of phony outrage is just astonishing. It must even surprise Pelosi that it’s gotten any traction at all. And it's testament to how the extreme left will grasp for any straws, however flimsy, in their hatred-fueled fight against Trump.
1
Yea, like that’s gonna happen.
It's all about power.
As long as Republican politicians remain convinced that they need the votes of Ever-Trumpers for their own reelection campaigns, they'll kiss the ring and blast the latest requisite talking points.
1
I have a question. When does or shall I ask which percentage of victims of shakedowns, blackmail, assaults FAIL to report the crime. In other words, think for a moment if the newest president of the Ukraine, elected to get rid of corruption had to admit that he had been the victim of a scheme which swapped a release of Congressional approved military aid from the US for merely announcing an investigation of a DJT political rival? I'm sure the Ukraine president knew that arrangement stunk on ice even on a good day. Perhaps that is why at the last minute, the Ukrainian president didn't follow through via his scheduled CNN spot to announce the Biden investigation.
Surely if the newly elected Ukrainian president recognized the corruptness of this military aid for announcement of a Biden investigation, then the position of the Republicans, Conservatives and Libertarian members of the impeachment investigation supports the conclusion that they sanction such behavior and/or further lack the necessary vision to represent the long term goals of the folks who voted them into their positions. Yes, its that scary.
Yes, we are so starved for a republican to speak out and say the obvious that even one voice in the darkness gives hope: that the country will move forward, out of this era of greed and lies. It is hard to recognize our government from what it was to what it has become. Bizarro. A president of the U.S.A. who spends his days tweeting, insulting, name calling, rambling meaningless words, and his enablers scrambling to explain it all to us, like we need a translator to clarify what's really happening in the white house when it's plain to see.
When they insult the intelligence of the people by denying the facts and pushing another narrative they have lost all credibility.
The republicans have been moving in this direction for at least 30 years, but this president has encouraged the worst in them-their strange, twisted, ideas ('freedom' to die without health care is a good thing). People can only live in this state of leaderless governing for so long before the ship rights itself. We are a nation of facts and hope and these will save us. Trumps is a temporary blot on our history.
3
Who cares? Don't you think Bloomberg would have stayed home if he weren't positive that Trump will be the Republican nominee in 2020? After three years, one more "gotcha" is not going to do anything to Trump or his supporters. But it will add more subscribers to left leaning media like NYT.
1
Well it's a nice thought but, as they say, "good luck with that." This is not your daddy's Republican Party.
1
When you can no longer believe any word coming out of the White House, matter is over. White House has gone rogue.
Republicans don't care about 50 years from now. Their average age is so high they don't care about 10 years from now.
2
As Sen. Gordon has observed, "several credible witnesses have testified to the existence of a quid pro quo, including William B. Taylor Jr., the acting ambassador to Ukraine; Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the White House’s top Ukraine expert; and Gordon Sondland, Mr. Trump’s ambassador to the European Union. " And then there´s Mick Mulvaney, who had a sudden and unforseen attack of adulthood and explained to the assembled scribes in the White House press room that of course there was a quid pro quo. That´s how the world works. Get over it, said Mick, inviting them to be adults, just like him. Then he was severely reprimanded and returned to Trumpland adolescent mode, stating as he did in public that he did not say what manifestly he had said. So, which Mick shall we believe, the adult Mick or the adolescent version?
2
Facts are simple and facts are straight
Facts are lazy and facts are late
Facts all come with points of view
Facts don't do what I want them to
Facts just twist the truth around
Facts are living turned inside out
Facts are getting the best of them
Facts are nothing on the face of things
Facts don't stain the furniture
Facts go out and slam the door
Facts are written all over your face
Facts continue to change their shape
Talking Heads, 1980, “Cross eyed and painless”
2
I wonder how can a Corrupt Person or Persons investigate Corruption. Think Potus and the GOP here. JMO
Time for some serious talk about Congressional Term Limits...
Good points, aside from the "election overturn" part. Now, how do we get something like this published on Fox News? Fox loves conservatives; Fox loves patriots; . . . Fox undermines the definition of both, unfortunately. . .
1
They are following the "alternate facts" provided by FakeDonald's political marketeers.
Good luck, Senator Gorton. Your proposition will need it.
1
I at least understand the ethically-challenged Trump: he gets a glorious monument to himself set in the jewel of the flashy Russian mobster world he idolizes. Or a share of Rosneft.
But I have to wonder, what exactly is in it for Republicans to side with Russia against the rest of us? Will they greet Putin's tanks with flowers if, once Putin takes Ukraine they annex Alaska next?
Just how does it benefit Republicans to be softened up by the propaganda of the KGB to welcome this end to 'the American Experiment' ?
1
@Susan Kraemer
It doesn't. But since they've already "taken the shilling [ruble] & kissed the book," servitude is demanded.
"Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio." Eenough to
I've never been a Republican, but I'm old enough to have admired many -- from Ike to Jacob Javits to Howard Baker. Full stop? Well … other than Justin Amash. ((It is not much help if only an honorable Slade Gorton -- R.-retired -- otherwise answers the 'call' of honesty and democracy.)
The sentiment behind the words of Paul Simon quoted above 'come to mind' when I think of trump-Republicans … 'which is to say' all now in Congress and in Cabinet offices.
But the melancholy suffusing Mr. Simon's lyric needs 'coupling' with something like Bob Dylan's "I can't think for ya, you'll have to decide, whether Judas Escariot had God on his side" to get me close to the 'feelings' I have for today's republicans. (Lower case "r" intended.)
1
Who was it who coined the phrase:
"With the dewy eyed earnestness of a 4 year old girl and the brazen shamelessness of a home remodeling contractor" ?
Dear Slade, Do you even know any Republicans in Congress? They love a Trump and the don’t care.
1
Funny how the guy bringing attention to the corruption of Hunter Biden is the one being impeached.
1
I'm afraid your "fellow" Republicans no longer consider someone like you their "fellow" since you oppose King Donald, and aren't maintaining the Trump Wall of Denial. The party you belonged to died long ago.
1
Very similar to how corporations shake down politicians in exchange for the contributions they make to their favorite charity. And how politicians shake down corporations for money to donate to their favorite charity. The charity being themselves.
Ah, Washington, DC. The great cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers of the Empire are irresistibly drained.
1
If only this former GOP senators letter would be read aloud on Fox news. I know ... but dare to dream.
2
Really guys...who cares? The VP sold access to corrupt Ukraine co. And we are upset with Trump for wanting to use it agianst him??
1
My fellow Democrats please accept that you lost the 2016 election.
1
Trump is the very definition of avaricious.
Senator Gorton, the Republican party that you knew has largely become extinct, or, at the very least, dormant.
2
Another true American speaks. Surely, someone within the Republican camp recalls those famous words from Tora! Tora! Tora!: "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."
1
Thank you Senator Gorton.
1
Dear Republicans,
Be loyal Americans first. The Truth will set you free.
2
I hate to be cynical, but fat chance.
Nice try Slate, but you might as well be speaking to your foot.
1
Senator, much as you profess adherence to the Republican Party, I believe the current crop of Republicans would consider you instead a RINO.
Mr. Gordon, thank you. The problem is you are writing in The NY Times. The people you need to teach don’t read, just like their candidate.
You should say this on Fox.
1
Dear Dem's, Please provide a real candidate, a plan and a platform which independants and moderate Republicans can vote for and the Donald will become a footnote in history in Nov 2020. Otherwise you will have 4 more years of this insanity and CA, NY and other liberal states will be to blame.
PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1
This has become about picking sides/tribes with asymmetry for disrespecting facts and law on the right. Trump supporters have made it clear that there are likely no possible set of facts that would allow them to move forward with questioning his behavior or Presidency. Banana Republicans have decided that this is worth the price of their duty to Constitution, law or truth
Every Congressional Republican is now presented with an extraordinary opportunity to become remembered and respected through history. All they need is to be the first with an "Enough is enough" speech.
Slade Gorton was an honorable Attorney General, and, although I voted for Warren Magnuson over Slade Gorton in gratitude for all of his work for the state, Gorton was the acceptable type of moderate Republican typified by Dan Evans (governor from 1965 to 1977) and John Spellman (governor from 1981 to 1985). Spellman was defeated by Booth Gardner in large part due to the attacks on Spellman from the rising right-wing.
In 1988 the loonies took over the Republican Party, and Washington has not had a Republican governor since. When Gorton ran for re-election against Maria Cantwell in 2000, Slade put on nut-job rhetoric (and lost).
While I am happy to see him advocating sanity in this editorial, he would be providing more public service if he explained why he pretended to be a right-wing crazy in 2000. Introspection into his own shameful transformation would provide more insight into the current Republican Party and its capture by Russian interests than does his bland exhortation.
Tell us, Slade, how Republicans can escape the fear of being "out-primaried" by crazies, and find the courage to rid America of the self-hypnotizing Manchurian Candidate sitting in the Oval Office.
Facts aren’t sufficient to follow. It is the truth that matters.
Facts are simple and facts are straight
Facts are lazy and facts are late
Facts all come with points of view
Facts don't do what I want them to
Facts just twist the truth around
Facts are living turned inside out
Facts are getting the best of them
Facts are nothing on the face of things
Facts don't stain the furniture
Facts go out and slam the door
Facts are written all over your face
Facts continue to change their shape
Talking Heads, 1980.
2
I don't know what moved former Senator Gorton to write this op-ed, but his voice is welcome.
Unfortunately, I fear no one is going to listen. This piece should have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, where it might not be preaching to the choir so much. And maybe Gorton could even appear on Fox News.
Right now, he's just a voice crying in the wilderness, which is unfortunate for us all.
1
There are 3 problems with Slade Gorton's opinion piece, 1 the people who need to hear it aren't listening; 2, Republicans will say, "Who is Slade Gorton?" and; 3. Those who know who Slade Gorton is or just that he is Republican will dismiss him as merely a RINO, & nothing to pay attention to.
Those who are running the Party now are the loyal supporters for a corrupt president and actions.
2
Truly a nice and noble sentiment, it isn’t going to happen. The Republicans have demonstrated their moral cowardice and would rather the US fall, into an oligarchy than uphold their oaths of office. I am not a religious man but god help us.
258
@GG
Republicans keep repeating their mantra:
Sorry America, You cannot complain about Trump's massive corruption if the economy is good and we are not at war.
Period.
18
@GG
Not sure oligarchy is the term you're searching for; I think you mean to say that the US should become a puppet government, run by the master in the Kremlin. That way, the Republicans remain "in control," get their wishes met but don't have to do any work because their orders come from Moscow.
17
Mr Gorton,
Thank you.
They will not respond to your reason as your words fall on deaf ears. R's have chosen a darkness and lies and have committed to both, with vigor.
Appealing to their better angels has not worked no matter who or how truthful or graciously it is presented. Their conscious is abandoned to power.
Decades of gerrymandering by both sides, steal votes. Dog whistles that are now full blown propaganda, is shoveled out in droves by FB and Tweets to voters. People have been trained to abandon critical thinking to make decisions. They now only believe in fear mongering and dogma. Years of conditioning towards tribalism fed with these lies and dogma on media with Putin and a willing FB, has primed the pump. DT, is just the next step.
We need R's to more forceful in your calling these lies out. We need you to demand that the truth be acted on.
More Republicans like you must demand integrity from your peers.
You must demand that that they honor their Oath to the Constitution.
Shame still has a place here.
Use it with a heavy hand to convince your fellow R's to their Oath.
Demand they stop using lies and propaganda driving wedges between us and towards autocratic rule at full speed. THAT is the reality to fear.
Tell voters who support the reps killing our Democracy that it is not immigrants or poor people should not be feared, but the egregious and vicious attack on the truth and our Democracy is the real reason to be afraid.
3
Mr Gorton states - " If the president is innocent, use the process to surface those exculpatory facts so that Congress and the country can agree whether or not Mr. Trump should be removed from office."
Perhaps the 91 year old Senator missed this, but Shiff didnt allow Republicans to call any of their own witnesses for this inquiry. Back in his day, the House would have voted right away, and the accused would have had rights and representation.
The facts are, all of the witnesses testified to hearsay. None of them, not one, was able to testify that Trump or even Guiliani gave explicit orders that aid was being held back in order for the Ukranians to announce an investigation. Even Sondland had to admit he "presumed".
Perhaps the good Senator forgot, because hes 91, but hearsay is not admissible into a Senate trial. So none of these "witnesses" would even make it to a Senate trial.
And this entire process presupposes the Bidens did nothing wrong, hence Trump had no good reason to ask Zelensky to look into it. The son of our former VP was in the back pocket, and on the payroll of this Ukranian energy company. Making 83k per month (not 50k), which is 1 million per year, for a job he had to work 2 days a year and never stepped foot in Ukraine, should raise a couple red flags. And then Joe Biden holding back 1 billion to get that prosecutor fired.
I mean seriously, is this the best the paper of record could do? Dig up a 91 year old to make the case?
2
@Sports Medicine The Trump administration has stonewalled the investigation. Trump will not allow Giuliani, Mulvaney, Bolton, or McGahn to testify. Of course, Mulvaney admitted to reporters that aid was being withheld expressly to put pressure on Ukraine to investigate the Bidens, and we should all get over it.
1
Instead of asking Republicans to be honest, try to find ways to satisfy them instead. Show that impeaching Trump is what white-pride is all about or that it will lower their taxes or allow more school shootings. Maybe explain to them that impeachment is God's way of denying climate change or will increase the national debt (their newest favorite cause.)
What would happen if the impeachment ballots were secret?
Republican legislators have already several times voted against the President. Russian sanctions, Ukrainian support or Syrian withdrawal .... and many more...
Is there any WH official that is not in conflict with mr Trump or that the president wouldn’t like to fire?
Didn’t Trump already wished to fire mr Barr?
President Trump is more alone then anybody thinks.
It’s time for Republicans to realize the the emperor has no ( or little) cloths.
1
It has always amazed me how we have fancier, longer words for our 'leaders' situations than we do for the regular people. It's not murder, it's an 'assassination'; not removing an unqualified employee from a job, but an 'impeachment'. Makes it all seem so much more dramatic.
The truth of the matter is that Donald J. Trump, if not born to incredible riches, would have been in prison on life charges decades ago if all the charges against him are true, from rape to financial crimes. The fact that the Republican party 'allowed' him to run under their banner is also directly related to DJT's wealth and willingness to ignore the law.
'Republican' meant something back in Lincoln's day. Now it simply means the Party of Crass, Backwards Thinking and Grift. Nice try, Mr. Gorton.
1
Why do we only get rationality from retired Republicans?
1
Sorry, but does this former senator want still more facts?
The author has some crazy idea that the GOP still has a moral compass. They tossed it overboard in 2016 when they realized that they are demographically doomed and embraced authoritarianism as a solution.
2
Sorry Senator Gorton, facts are not the business of the Republican party anymore.
It has become a cult, where the highest achievement seems to be stickin’ it to the libs.
I don’t know how to fix it, but you can reflect on any ways that you may have contributed to the collapse of Republican ethics, morality, and decency.
3
How does it feel to be irrelevant?
What novel ideas for Republicans: follow the facts, put country above party.
1
He's got a point - instead of present tactics the GOP could go with, "so what?" - be foursquare for corruption. Why not?
A haloed Ronald Reagan, accompanied by St. Peter and the Virgin Mary, could rise from the dead and walk the halls of Congress, preaching this message, and today’s Congressional Republicans would dismiss all three as Never Trumpers.
2
As a former Republican, 48 yrs, I second the motion.
Bravo, Mr. Gorton. Your party desperately needs people like you. As a Democrat who believes in a two-party system, I hope that someday the Republican party frees itself from this awful cult and once again becomes a positive force for our country.
There is so much more than Ukraine. Every time Trump wanted to go golfing at one of his resort golf courses the government was charged to the benefit of Trump, a violation of domestic emoluments. If the American people think a President should maintain his business interests and, while in office, select his company as a vendor and charge the US Government for it's use, then remove the emoluments clause of the Constitution. If you can't or don't want to please don't simply look the other way as that turns the entire Constitution into a series of so-called "blue laws". I don't believe anyone wants to turn the US into a country governed by a series of blue laws. Plus, anyone working for the government swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. Trump and Pence swore an oath to take care to ensure the laws of the country are enforced. This is the principal Presidential Oath. Trump has a 3 yr history of ignoring them. Can anyone in this country say, honestly, he is fit to be President, fit mentally, physically, psychiatrically? It's bad enough he's ignoring his oath. No excuse for you to ignore yours.
why has Romney been so quiet lately. he's got 5 years left on his term so no excuse to hold back
1
There are a few republicans who have a little morality, but precious few. Most of them are part of the republican cult that is closely aligned with putin's United Russia party which is a non-communist, right wing nationalist oligarchy. This party is virtually indistinguishable from the republican cult in the US from a policy standpoint.
Vote against oligopoly in 2020. Vote Democrat.
1
Terrific piece - my only comment: this needs to be published in a venue where the right audience will read it and hopefully be moved to truly consider the evidence. This NYT audience is already tracking with this logic.
1
Slade Gordon: a powerful voice on the frontlines of all that is holy and virtuous. Wait, who?
1
Another Republican Profile In Courage In Retirement. Big deal.
2
Thank you Mr Gorton. I fear it will not be taken seriously. What we need to do and can do is effect a Democratic landslide in 2020 and wrest Republican control of the Senate and the Presidency, then look at all the loopholes used by Mr Trump and his toadies to hollow out our institutions and try to make sure this cannot happen again.
1
Let's talk FACTS: The truth is that I'm not sure there is a single Republican member of Congress that isn't frightened to death about losing their seat the next time they run for reelection of the vote to bring Trump to justice, or whose teeth aren't chattering at the thought of a Democratic president rescinding the archine laws Trump and his fellow true believers have rammed through. How does one change that, Mr. Gorton?
1
Maybe every Congressman and Senator and perhaps even all of use who hold the power of the vote, should read or read again John F. Kennedy's powerful book "Profiles in Courage". Kennedy tells the stories of eight senators who stood 'against the tide' to vote for a principle and for democracy. These persons were John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Thomas Hart Benton, Sam Houston, Edmund G. Ross, Lucius Lamar, George Norris, and Robert A. Taft. In the foreword Robert Kennedy writes the book is “not just stories of the past but a book of hope and confidence for the future. What happens to the country, to the world, depends on what we do with what others have left us." Powerful stories that if examined again may prompt those who now face a critical decision, to have 'the courage' to make a difficult decision based on facts, not politics, holding forth the principles of democracy and the Constitution.
How sad that there isn’t even one Slade Gorton in the entire Republican Congressional delegation.
290
@donaldo
I say, keep adding to the Articles of Impeachment. Do not keep it "narrow"!
Make the Articles of Impeachment so lengthy, so overwhelming, so grievous, it will be INCONCEIVABLE that the entire world will not want Trump removed from office.
Of course, we know the Senate STILL will not convict but that is guaranteed to destroy their re-election chances.
The American people will remember clearly, in November, Trump's cowardly Republican comrades who refused to protect them from this lying, blatantly corrupt president.
27
@donaldo well... I wouldn't bet Sen. Gorton would buck the party if he were still in office. Have to get re-elected right? Easy to armchair quarterback from retirement. I appreciate him speaking up, but when he was in office, he was no bastion of courage against corruption.
11
@donaldo There has been one who stood up, Justin Amash who has now left the GOP
16
Thank you Mr. Gorton.
I keep reading that many Republicans are privately concerned about the president. Well then speak out, for goodness' sake!
Yes, you might risk losing the next election. So what? Is it worth your soul?
All of you elected officials are in an enviable state: you could resign or take a risk at speaking out on principle. You won't starve. You won't struggle to find another job. It's not like any member of congress is a poor wage slave stuck in an Amazon warehouse, unable to quit because he is living paycheck to paycheck.
I am reminded of a quote (of unknown origin) but said once by the great South African parliamentarian Helen Suzman;
"I can see a shiver running around these green benches," she said, "looking for a spine to go up."
2107
@Bill if they all stand up they will not lose their jobs.
94
@Bill Maybe it's not spinelessness. Maybe they really think the liberals are such a threat to all they hold dear that keeping them out of power at any cost is worth it. Or maybe they think this is just how the game is supposed to be played and they aren't to be blamed for playing their part, just like a defense attorney who represents a monstrous person doesn't feel bad about it because somebody has to do it and that's how the game is played. The costs of abandoning the system of dirty politics is even greater than the damage the drunk driver can do if you get him off.
28
@Bill
"Yes, you might risk losing the next election. So what? Is it worth your soul?"
What souls?
84
The Republican base have a “win at all costs” mindset now. They justify it with Trump’s judicial appointments and tax cuts. And they’ve convinced themselves the Democrats are evil (thanks to right wing propaganda). Republican politicians can’t go against Trump because many agree with the base, or they fear their base will beat them in primaries. Few Republicans are left that care about the country as a whole.
1302
@Bob The 2 relevant political parties in this country are the Democratic party and the Fascist Party. One is clinging to democracy while the other would gladly trade it in exchange for their agenda.
132
@Bob Call it a conspiracy theory if you want, but I think the primary issue is that these Republicans are all complicit in accepting NRA Russian-backed funds for their campaigns, among other foreign monies, and none of them want the truth to come out. On top of that, Trump has additional "kompromat" dirt on them that will ruin their careers and hence, in addition to other arguments that have been made outside of these realms, their allegiance has been bought and their souls have been sold.
83
@Bob -- One problem is that a substantial slice of the Republican Party is AWOL, sitting on the Democratic side of the Senate, and calling themselves "centrist" Democrats. Put those folks back in the Republican Party and its current inhabitants might feel more mutual support for acting on the basis of facts.
15
Facts may be stubborn things, but they are no match for the attraction that greed and power wields over nearly member of the current Republican Party. As the author Upton Sinclair quipped, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."
No matter how compelling the facts, no matter how obvious Mr. Trump's glaring abuses of power were and are, politicians like Representatives Nunes and Jordan and Senator Graham care much more about retaining power and their reelection prospects. They aren't just hypocrites; they are morally violent.
Senator Gorton ask his fellow Republicans to look at facts and let the impeachment process take its course. Unfortunately for all of us, we no longer live in a country where democratic norms, the rule of law, and common decency matter to members of his party.
1614
@jrinsc
It's even worse than that. It's not simply reelection prospectss - it's employment prospects as conservatives after their congressional careers have ended.
52
@DebbieR
Good point. Someone like John Bolton is looking to preserve his Fox News connections and promote his new forthcoming book. Testifying now would hurt his future salary, no matter if it helped save our democracy.
96
@jrinsc
Republicans will do the right thing only if and when public opinion polls show a larger majority favor impeachment and removal of our national embarrassment and money launderer.
33
Senator Nunes was apparently up to his ears in the Ukraine business, and who knows how many others of our lawmakers.
Perhaps it would be more effective to knock the rotten supports out before pulling down the central statue.
1
If only you weren't asking this of Republicans.
1
People in statements and articles keep pointing to the Reps being afraid of Trump and his base. This is ridiculous. That is NOT what the Reps are afraid of.
They are afraid of Murdoch's, Faux "news."
As long as Murdoch's propaganda machine is behind Trump, he is untouchable. THAT is the iron hand on all the Rep's throats.
Faux is THE most popular news station in the US (especially troubling considering by Faux' own (official) admission, the only Faux content that has even a modicum of vetting, that follows even some semblance of journalistic integrity, is the "news" division). Most of the viewers believe (primarily because they have been systematically led to believe by Faux) that the rest of content can't be just outright lies right?
Wrong.
No Rep candidate wants to suddenly have millions of conservative voters suddenly being told by "reporters" and talk show hosts they trust that these Reps are traitors to the conservative cause, can't be trusted, or who knows what? It would be effortless for Faux to definitively END a Rep political career. Effortless.
It's Faux which is staying all their hands, muzzling all their mouths. They know perfectly well the President is an insane buffoon and that he and his corrupt cronies broke the law in a comically-inept manner. But, they can't say "boo" about it, their hands are tied by Faux....
.
1
Ask yourself why it is that only "former" Republican politicians like Mr Gorton and some of those heading out the door have the backbone to speak out against this abomination.
Wow, remember when the GOP was a party that was willing to debate on the basis of facts. Compare Slade Gorton to Lindsey Graham, then go outside and let out a primal scream...
1
That's not how it works.
The parties are not part of the Constitution. Republicans, serve the Constitution for the sake of our country. Do your duty. We the people are depending on you.
My fellow Democrats, follow the facts.
Joe Biden's son held a "job" on the board of a notoriously corrupt Ukrainian corporation while his father was Vice President of the United States and dealing with Ukrainian issues in the conduct of his duties.
"Everybody does it".
1
It seems my comments are being blocked, or delayed to a dump after other comments can be made. Lincoln defied the Supreme Court, and refused to give American citizens the right to habeas corpus. No impeachment was even considered. It was not considered violating the constitution, it was considered seeking an outcome based on the will of the people. Trump was slimed by political foes, and tried to find election interference Mueller was incapable of, and he is accused of fixing the 2020 election. He was seeking the answers Mueller’s didn’t in 2016. Is Trump supposed to to just accept what biased Mueller prosecutors couldn’t find, or try to find out what Mueller never looked for?
2
Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War. When the country was fighting for survival against other members of the Union.
Trump asked Ukraine to interfere in our elections by announcing that Biden interfered with corrupt purpose in one of Ukraine's investigations. When in fact, Biden called the removal of the chief prosecutor after he closed the investigation into the company of whose board Biden's son was on. That investigator also declined to send documentation to the United Kingdom when asked so that the U.K. had to close their investigation of the owner of that company. When Biden was saying he would cut off US aid if the prosecutor was not fired, he was following US foreign policy as well as acting in concert with the UK, France, Germany, the rest of NATO and the EU as well as the IMF.
A fairer comparison would have when Andrew Jackson (Trump's hero) refused to carry out the Supreme Court's ruling to call off the Trail of Tears.
15
@Jay, unfortunately, seems to have the garbled sense of history so common on the right.
@Laura is correct, Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during a civil war, with the potential to destroy the country, out of what he saw as necessity. In the context of this desperate civil war, Lincoln’s actions were seen as justifiable, therefore, no impeachment was contemplated.
Compare that to Trump, who called up a foreign leader and asked him to investigate a domestic political rival in exchange for money Trump had no right to withhold. It was not the existence of the union at stake, it was Trump’s re-election.
If you can’t see the difference, Jay (and it seems many Republicans can’t), then perhaps Lincoln’s actions were all in vain after all.
12
Former Senators do not mean a thing, sorry. Just keep your opinion to yourself unless you convince one active Republican Senator to change his vote, then another. Change 3 and you can tout your beliefs all you want.
8
@Paula Tal
The last I heard, the first amendment is still in effect. The senator has every right to express his opinion. So do you, regardless of how dismissive and intolerant it is. Former senators do count, especially ones who have been witness to prior impeachment hearings. He won't sway anyone in the corrupt Republican congress. They're a lost cause. But he might get Republican voters to look at the facts. We need to have more Republicans speaking out. They need to be encouraged, not told to shut up.
Ukraine definitely received a shakedown from the last administration. Obama talked them into disarming & Russia invaded. Obama also failed to fulfill his promise to protect them. Then Biden’s son, Pelosi’s son, Kerry’s step son, and Romney’s campaign advisor all got into a money laundering scheme thru a corrupt gas company. Elites funneling US aid money to themselves. These people are actually guilty of all the things they tried to pin on Trump. If I was Ukraine’s leadership I wouldn’t let another democrat step foot on their soil.
4
@Joseph, nice deflection. Even if Biden’s kid did make money off his name, that doesn’t mean Trump is innocent. We have him on a call asking Ukraine to say they are looking into a DNC server in Ukraine in exchange for aid. No one believes that the server is in Ukraine, but it helps Russia and it helps Trump, at the expense of us, our security, and our ability to have a fair election. Trump just admitted to using his charity as a campaign piggy bank a few weeks ago. He doesn’t care about corruption, and he doesn’t care about the people.
3
President Obama imposed sanctions on Russia. Trump cut a deal before the election to remove sanctions in exchange for an aggressive Russian disinformation campaign to help Trump get elected. Are you ok with that treachery?
1
The story that you relate here - that Pelosi’s son, Kerry’s stepson, and Romney’s campaign manager are mixed up with a Ukrainian gas company has been thoroughly debunked. I don’t t know where you get your news, but I advise you look for another source.
1
I am a Republican.
And senator, I have followed facts.
You draw analogies to Watergate. Left unsaid is a mile long and mile wide trail of Nixon's enemies who were targeted domestically.
The Watergate breaking - I am 70 years old and I remember it - was rumored to have taken place because Nixon operatives thought they could find dirt on Kennedy. And Kennedy was a Nixon fixation.
Here, we have one phone call that has been analyzed, deciphered, dissected by the House committee. And all because of a fake so called whistleblower report.
For Schiff - he wants Americans to believe his so called "parody".
And I dare say, senator that you also remember the call that way.
But as witnesses recounted this was hardly a Watergate burglary committed by a few clueless folks.
It seems POTUS had made just about everybody know his distaste for Ukraine and what he considered a double standard.
In his opinion, ousting of Mannafort and other shenanigans - all pointed to Kiev.
So, senator - the facts are it was not just the POTUS and Giuliani who cooked up this a la Nixon/Dean - but it seems the whole government machinery was on to it.
Just the career bureaucrats were in the dark.
So, to turn one phone call in a call to remove a POTUS - is reading facts totally wrong.
3
@Neil
And I suppose you approve pardoning proven war criminals too.
What a hoot of hooey.
3
The notion that we have to beg Republicans to come out and do their duties as elected officials is preposterous. At this stage, I think the GOP has to vanish because it is rotten at its core. New conservative leaders will have to raise, but that won't happen overnight. The longer the GOP decides to wait to face the inevitable, the more irreversible damage it will do to our democracy.
2
All the senators have been there for too long. The taste of power has corrupted all of them. It is time to push the reset button and introduce term limits even for this office.
3
Mr. Gordon's cogent, compelling and, for present-day Republicans, aberrant argument points out just how deeply the GOP has sunken into the abyss of moral turpitude.
"Facts," as President John Adams famously said, "are stubborn things." Apparently, however, they are not nearly as stubborn as today's Republicans, who have absolutely no use for them.
2
Everyone seems to be blaming the Republican Party and the GOP Senators in office, today. Yet, they represent a *huge* swath of the country through their supportive constituents.
The fact of the matter is that there is a culture war happening and GOP constituents are not going put country over party in an act of patriotism, if it ensures that they lose control of government and their way of life in the process.
Conservative talk radio, Fox News, FB, and the like have created this endemic fear in half the country's minds. There is no easy answer.
5
The Republicans will not "engage in the process" because they know he is not innocent. The facts are clear and even admitted by Trump and his Chief of Staff. Expect obstruction by Republicans to continue and be the hallmark of their defense.
5
Thank you Mr. Gorton. The media gets this wrong as well by calling this a Democratic impeachment. This is an impeachment by the House of Representative, whether the Republicans participate or not.
6
Excellent article. One of the things I realized about Trump and his supporters is that people must like him because they never know what he will do or say next. Maybe it is the feeling that they think makes him all powerful. Interesting because those are among the traits of our president that terrify me. That and his complete disregard for truth telling or decency. The shakedown in the Ukraine is probably the tip of the iceberg with Trump. I am sure many things he has done or will do have the people around him in constant anxiety. This upcoming election will be of paramount importance. I believe the Republicans will continue to find fault with any witness on either political side that risks alienating their base. It’s all about power and being re elected. Really disappointing.
1
It is unfortunate, but what otherwise honest Republicans in Congress do not understand is that if enough of them took a stand they would rule the day. Constituents would stick by them if there is enough of a wave to show that they are not turn-coats but defenders of Republican ideals. It is astounding to me that moderate Republican politicians, like Romney and Hurd (and formerly Graham), are so terrified of losing face when they really have nothing to lose if they speak honestly about what is happening to their Party. Why is it only intellectuals and former politicians who are willing to speak up? There is a confounding disconnect here.
1
I am in conversations with Trump supporters. They appear to operate in a different universe. Any criticism of Trump is, by their standards, unwarranted. Some ask why Obama wasn't investigated.
I recommend laws that prevent the POTUS, and any candidates for POTUS from using Twitter or any other similar service to communicate directly with citizens. I can't come up with a similar solution for Faux news, as that is the other half of our nightmare, a propaganda arm that masquerades as a news channel. Sort of like RT.
2
@Bruce Maier
I'll second that emotion concerning Twitter! I'd add Facebook too. By the way, how do you manage to have
conversations with Trump supporters? I had to give up on that.
Thank you.
I wonder if Mr. Gorton would write this if he was still in office.
3
Here's a fact that can't be ignored: this editorial would never appear on the Fox network!
2
To Trump Country: You are losing your nation too
1
I'm tired of these "principled Republicans" writing op-eds for the NYT. We already know everything you are writing. Take your principled message out to your own people. Write for your town paper. Show up at Town Hall meetings. Take out a TV ad. Get your message out to the people who need it.
11
Bravo!
What took you so long?
1
I have been following the facts. First, say you "it seems clear". That is a patent admission that you don't know anything for sure. This is exactly what every testifiying witness has told us. They are simply making assumptions. Yet you would have the President removed from office. You liberals would be screaming bloody murder if a U.S. citizen was convicted of a crime without any evidence, based solely on assumptions by witnesses!!!
The other unmistakable fact, by his own admission, is that Biden demanded a quid pro quo from the corrupt former President of the Ukraine to prevent an investigation into how his son was paid millions of dollars and given a job for which he had no skills. He cannot even understand or speak the language needed to be in such a management position!!! No one has even scratched the surface on how he got China to pay him over a billion dollars, when China won't do that for anyone.
Then you liberals feign outrage and say that there is no proof that Biden did any of this. That is the language used when someone is guilty. It is the same as saying you can't prove I did anything wrong. There is no evidence because the investigation was quashed by Biden. The lack of evidence is NOT proof of innocence. When will you liberals be honest with yourselves?
2
@Veritas128
I'd recommend your comment as one of the few from a Trump supporter to this op ed, but I have to go check all the 'facts' you quote first. In our times, it's no longer okay to just respect someone's opinions; we have to find out if what they are saying is true or not.
Rep legislators who ‘know’ the truth are leaving Congress rather than stand up to trump and McConnell. I heard Charlie Dent tonight admit that he chose not to run again rather than deal with trump. Too bad. Hurd is leaving, surely for a similar reason.
I wonder everyday how these folks can look at themselves in the mirror and not be ashamed? I wonder how they face their children and grandchildren and not be ashamed? I wonder will there be another Howard Baker moment from any of these Reps? My guess is not.
This is a very refreshing read, and it is something that, as the write implies, should be borne in mind by both Republicans and Democrats. As much as I detest Trump, his policies and his values, I do believe that justice and due process must be done and must be seen do be done. Everyone should cooperate with an open mind and, as far as possible, agnostic as to the outcome. This seems impossible, but it is vital.
1
It has been a very long time since I have observed any Republican put their duty to the country above their party, so I would be shocked if they were to do so in this case. Ironically Trump has no loyalty to their party, but only to himself, so they gain nothing but retaining their House or Senate seats. It has been very depressing watching the US devolve into a banana republic, but that is what it has become.
4
Facts -are- stubborn things. That may account for why Trump prefers "alternative facts" where he is "entirely innocent".
Republicans cannot defend Trump with facts - that much is clear. If there were facts that would clear Trump, if there were "first hand" witnesses like Pompeo, Mulvaney, Giuliani, Bolton and others who -could-clear Trump, the White House would be forcing them forward to testify. Instead, Trump and the White House have made ludicrous assertions of "absolute immunity" even for -former- staff, trying to deny anyone who might have knowledge, facts, and hard evidence of the actual events from testifying. Any rational person must conclude from this that 'the facts' are against Trump, and there -are- no witnesses who can come forward and prove Trump's innocence.
So, instead Republicans have focused all their effort on invalidating the Constitutional process. In doing so, they are abrogating their power, and eviscerating the Congress's power as a 'separate but equal' branch of the government. So short-sighted! Once it is gone, it is gone forever... no president will respond to Congress's oversight requests if Republicans support Trump in his efforts to ignore all those requests now. So short-sighted!
The Founders were right to fear an executive pursuing personal aggrandizement and wealth. What the Founders missed was a Congress with party-whipped legislators far too eager to give away their power and independence to that abusive executive.
2
Republicans have another reason to act while there's still time: should they demure, they will have provided an unassailable template for future Democratic presidents who choose, like Trump, not to submit to Congressional oversight. Republican supporters may not like where that leads -- but they would only have themselves to blame. Would Democratic presidents be "above" that kind of behavior? Possibly. But when an opponent has divorced himself from any semblance of fairness and rational thought, it's hard to respect any process that continues to honor such traits. And that could end up being the very worst effect of the Republicans' shameful behavior.
1
@David D
I can't imagine we will ever have another president this removed from reality, decency, regard for the law. That's about the only thing I'm not that worried about. Having said that, 4 more years of Trump and we may not have presidents or a democracy.
As a foreigner who moved to this country two years ago, it's so troubling to me that at least half the country are willing to accept and propagate outright lies by this President.
I cannot believe what I'm hearing from Republicans; the arguments they are using to justify his behavior in the Ukraine scandal are so ridiculous they are bordering on the insane.
How did it get to this point where actual facts are being dismissed in favor of opinions?
We can only hope that Trump is impeached and the Senate trial will bring forth further indisputable evidence of wrongdoing, if for nothing else but to send a clear message that this is totally unacceptable.
If he somehow wiggles his way out of this one, I genuinely fear for the future of this country. Without the essential, inherent reliability and acceptance of the truth we are doomed.
6
Mr Gordon should be applauded for this piece. However, wittingly or not, he slips in a falsehood that must be called out: impeaching Trump is not undoing the results of the 2016 election.
Pence would become president, the Supreme Court Justices would remain confirmed (including the seat that President Obama had the right to fill but which McConnell stole), the tax cuts will continue to increase the deficit, the repeal of regulations will continue to endanger health, the environment and consumers, mass shootings will continue and the low standing the USA reached in the world is likely to linger together with the stench of a corrupt administration and Republican party.
3
You still don't get it, do you. Trump and the GOP represent at least a good 40% of the American public. Trump, although basically ignorant and narcissistic to the point of pathology, knows this and how to play it. It's an undeniable talent the man has and uses well.
It is a type of warfare that has been around probably ever since the species reached critical population levels to enable those who have it to use it. And to effect the environment to the point where we now call it the anthropocene. If the politicians don't get us the climate will.
1
Undoing the results of an election whereby the winner of the smaller number of votes won does not seem like such a grave, awful thing.
1
Follow the facts?
The only real honest (and head-shaking) fact you need to know is that Donald Trump is our president and millions of people love and support him.
That is the horrible reality of the United States in the 21st century.
Legions of Americans (Senators and members of the House among them.) worshipping a bully. In the USA.
You want these folks to pause and contemplate Hamilton and Adams?
3
@J G
Thank you! That is the truth.
Until people find themselves united in real issues, this is what we will have- division, and those who utilize our own fears and ignorance to obtain power, and rule over us with impunity and injustice for all.
Simply put, Republican lawmakers have been poisoned by their leader, and can no longer function as reasonable, honorable, or compassionate human beings. Note that this Republican is no longer serving our country, so is not subject to the cruelty, bullying, and tyranny of the ugly criminal president. But do we hear any real senators or house members willing to protect and defend the USA or its military allies instead of the Putin/Trump criminal coalition? America is listening. But don't get your hopes up that any Republican will do the right thing.
Wow!! well said.
Thank you Mr. Gorton. Thank God there is someone in the Republican party that understands the situation and is willing to speak out.
Thank God, there is someone who is more interested in the constitution than a bunch of Republicans who in addition to trump are also only interested in their own interests which include power and wealth and being nasty at the expense of others.
We really need more of you.
Nice try, Sen Gorton, but appealing to the patriotism, intellect, open-mindedness and non-partisanship of elected Republicans is a fool's errand. Not a one of them has exhibited any of those qualities during this laawless administration. The facts are clear - Trump is guilty and Republicans will acquit him. Their integrity, the Constitution, and the rule of law will be lost in the "process." History will record their treachery rather than their honesty. We can only hope this will finally end the GOP and Republican conservatism once and for all.
3
Instead of using the latin term quid pro quo, which a majority of citizens probably don't understand, what Trump and Giuliani did should be called for what it was: an attempt at a corrupt exchange, bribery for a "favor". Furthermore, it should be clear that people fighting the Russians might very well have been killed by the withholding of nearly 400 million dollars in military assistance.
It was completely clear that Ukrainians were depending on America to lend vital assistance and some might very well be dead because of the delay.
Why in the world would Trump get on the phone and attempt this corrupt exchange directly? Any smart president would have let others do the dirty work (plausible deniability). But, no, as he has told us repeatedly, Trump thinks that he is the smartest, most knowledgable man about everything, so he had to get directly involved. All he proves, again and again, is that he knows the art of very bad deals.
Any college history major knows that presidents don't put themselves in the line of fire. They don't order assassinations, they don't order domestic spying. If it happens, "oh, well, there you go again" (Reagan). The president...didn't...know, right? This one wasn't smart enough to stand back and let others dirty their hands for him.
1
I don't think the current GOP want to see the truth, much less handle the Truth. If they did, they would have called out Trump a long time ago on sexual harassment, racism - you name it. No, the current GOP members need to attack the process because they can't handle the Truth.
1
Former senator Gorton urges the following:
"...follow the facts wherever they lead, and put country above party."
Is it not rather late in the day for patriotism and love of country to come to the fore and replace a nasty, denigrating partisanship? Have the legislators aligned with the Republicans party not shed all pretense of dignity, independence and clear judgement? How to you climb back from these depths of, face it, personal degradation?
Over the course of our nation's history, we have experienced many tumultuous times. When have we ever had elected members of Congress spouting conspiracy theories inspired by a nation that is an avowed world wide opponent of the U.S.? When have we had senators and House members trying to excuse away the corruption of America's foreign policy for petty political ends?
Right wing media took over the Republican party more than two decades ago. Those who speak in Congress now have been indoctrinated by the money making, crazed media tide and they know no other masters. Their constituents drink it down like mother's milk, so they believe they have no other choice but to act as an echo of pure, vile propaganda. They are lost.
2
Too bad you're not a voting Senator. This still leaves 53 more senators who need convincing.
It is clear that Republicans take an oath of loyalty to the Republican Party and not the Constitution.
Great opinon, but how are we going to cut through Russian (and now GOP) propaganda that is poisoning public discourse? It's dangerous propaganda, revolting, unethical, immoral and corrupt to baldfaced-lie to the American people, but suddenly it's normal since Trump came on board. It makes me nauseated multiple times a day.
5
Jordan, Conway and Nunes will NEVER be able to escape history, they will forever be remembered as the politicians that tried to tell the American public that the sun is square when is not, what a disgrace of
politicians.
2
Republicans have proven that they are not leaders, hence are unfit to lead, and dangerous to have in positions that require leadership: the fortitude to simply do what is right for this land of the free; the intelligence to resist Russian efforts to throw us into disarray; the heart to stand up to the many forces of greed that will tear us down, tear our democracy apart, and make us every day a lesser America.
Yay Slade! Making me proud (yet again) to be a Washingtonian!
The Republican Party long ago eschewed facts in favor of propaganda. Think back to Reagan on Iran-Contra: "my heart and best intentions tell me it's true, but the facts and evidence tell me it is not." Then the ridiculous hypocrisy of Newt Gingrich. Then the lies about WMD, trickle down economics, tea party know-nothingism, and birtherism. All that led to Trumpism. Intellectual dishonesty is baked into the party's DNA at this point. Trump is just its latest manifestation.
5
I once heard a retired Army Lt. Colonel (name forgotten) say on CNN, apropos this disgusting display of cowardice and lack of moral compass by house Republicans: "When faced with a lie that one wants to believe, the truth doesn't stand a chance." Sadly, and terribly, true.
3
@Al Richter
That's it- that single quote says it all.
1
All of the arguments in favour of impeachment, which are totally compelling, matter for nought when you have people like Rick Perry believing that God sent Trump to run the country. Perry is not alone by any means. But of course God may also have sent Hunter Biden to sit on the board of Burisma. How could someone like Rick Perry denounce such an idea? Both Trump and Biden were equally unqualified for their roles and, if anything, Hunter Biden is marginally superior to Trump morally. The US is truly a very weird and scary place when religion overrules empirical evidence, but I guess that is the basis of religion in the first place.
2
This lone voice of Republican voice of sanity is a an unexpected breath of fresh air amid the stench of swamp-fevered hypocrisies into which the Grand Old Party has allowed itself to slip.
Mr. Gorton,
Your party believes in "alternative facts", the "truth isn't truth", and that the president is above the law. The unwillingness to testify before Congress, the withholding of subpoenaed documents, and the spreading of proven lies, is the "process" they believe in.
I think your pleas will fall on deaf ears.
2
That's exactly my opinion on this whole thing. Too bad that this will fall on completely deaf ears.
Facts are stubborn things yes, but ‘alternative’ facts appear just as stubborn. The founders did not foresee or devise what to do when a president lies and uses conspiracy theories and alternative facts to obstruct his evil deeds and convince his ignorant base and fellow republicans to stand beside him and give him a pass on his crimes. This will truly have a grave impact on our republic and how future leaders choose to govern.
2
Sen. Gorton , Trump was right to ask for info on Biden and son. Their conduct was sleazy i both Ukraine and China. The facts should come out about those two.
Also Trump is finally making progress on immigration, but more needs to be done. Trump has my vote for 2020. AOC and her pals will destroy the country if given any access to power.
The last thing Republicans want now is a trial based on facts--if they had honestly exculpatory evidence, it would have been blared out on every megaphone Rupert Murdoch or Rush Limbaugh owns. Instead we get Russian disinformation parroted by extremely cynical or moronic dupes of an ex-KGB officer. What's amazing is that it isn't even a particularly sophisticated effort but nonetheless wildly successful with Republicans! Literally traitorous. Trump is a lost cause; are tens of millions of our fellow citizens also lost?
3
“An avaricious man might be tempted to betray the interests of the state to the acquisition of wealth”
'Betray' the US -- as in, treasonously?
Yeah, well, there's a Penalty for that.
IF our Senate is ruled by courageous and honorable men and women, we may yet see it exacted.
3
Well said. But it will fall on deaf ears.
This is right on point. The biggest takeaway from the hearings is the dramatic contrast between the public servants trying to do the right thing for our country, and the self serving leadership from the White House. Regardless of which side you're on, you should know the ring of truth when you hear it.
2
He brings up a point that I think about all the time - why would the republicans want to go down on the Trump side of history? It isn’t goin to be kind to them.
1
The Republican party of Donald Trump doesn't believe in objective facts. Neither did the Republican party of Newt Gingrich. They must all be vanquished from the face of the Earth.
They know the facts. They don't care because these are the tactics of their power incumbency. That's why all Republicans must be defeated in 2020.
1
Bravo, and well said. Are any Republicans currently in office listening?
1
This current Republican situation is not an aberration. Look at the rise of Tea Party in response to a mixed-race Democratic challenger to John McCain. The failure to properly vet the completely unqualified Sarah Palin haunted McCain til the day he died. She fueled the growing racism of the party. And the Republicans feared her influence over the voters. Just as they now fear angering Trump's base. They are frightened sheep.
1
Senator Gorton -- The qualities of statesmanship and intellectual integrity have eroded since you left the Senate in 2001, and have been replaced by actions determined by peer pressure. We're coming to a crisis, and those on my side of the spectrum are profoundly grateful that there are those like you on the other side. We've muddled through both Bushes as you have muddled through Obama and Clinton. But when the crunch comes -- as it looks like it surely will -- we can both rejoice when whoever takes over after this loathsome uncouth egocentric child-man.
WHY IS MY TAX MONEY going to Ukraine, to undoubtedly be partially stolen, while the bridge next to my house has been closed for the last year due to poor structural rating (while there is no money to fix it)?
1
History will not be kind to those who propped up this president. Those who lied and hide from telling the truth. And history will remember the future courts rulings , my they judge wisely or forever be condemned to shame.
With all due respect to the author, this is not the same GOP of the Nixon era. Today's GOP is a truly reactionary organization dedicated to inflammatory stances totally unrelated to upholding the Constitution.
1
Slade Gorton, the mouthpiece of Weyerhauser and enemy of forests everywhere comes out of retirement to cast aspersions on Trump.
I never in a million years thought I’d ever applaud Gorton as a hero.
But he just did something heroic.
What nonsense. Mr. Gorton is assuming that Trump, like any other duly elected president, is a decent man and merely corrupted by the temptation of power, "Given the temptations a president might have in dealing with foreign powers," and that Gorton's fellow Republicans are blind to his fatal flaw.
Trump is and always has been a criminal. And anyone who enables him are equally as criminal.
2
Unfortunately, Senator Slade, the GOP under whose aegis you served no longer exists. They aren't listening to your call.
Having president Trump in the White House is like having a drunk in our homes. We lived day-to-day worrying about what trauma will befall us. This man, this president is dysfunctional and he has brought the whole Republican Party down with him. They now are willing to back up his lies and deceits. We live in fear of what is going to come next. I feel the only thing that we can count on is the unpredictable behavior of this man and his cohorts. Living under this dysfunctional administration is having and will continue to have a dire effect on all of us citizens of the United States of America. God, help us.
1
@John Metz Clark
I agree with your comment and share your anxiety but since God didn't prevent this, I doubt he's much concerned. Voting is a better bet.
The sad facts are that both parties have succumbed to their Left and Right wings. There is no middle anymore in the Parties.
The Dems are promising "free everything" and the rich will pay for it. Sure, and ya betcha.
The Reps are promising Walls, resurrection of our middle class with "good jobs" by hammering allies and China. Never gonna happen.
NOBODY has a policy that will do the following:
1) Solve the massive inequality in wealth and income that started in 1975.
2) Enable the children of the poor to be more equal with the middle and upper income levels when they start school.
3) Truly solve the drug epidemic and resultant rise in suicide, especially among White men.
4) Fix our broken immigration, medical, educational systems.
The sad fact is that it takes everyone working together to truly resolve these issues but only WW II and the following 20 years had everyone on the same page. Now, we are just shouting, screaming, doing violence to each other. And nobody is listening or THINKING.
As Henry Ford said, "Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is why so few people engage in it."
Gorton is right, but there is something more basic going on here that no one is addressing.
Conventional wisdom is that, in fighting the impeachment inquiry by no other means than damning the process, House and Senate Republican are putting party above country. It also says that they refuse to abandon Trump for fear of alienating the Republican base, which would result in their facing primary challenges from unquestioning Trump loyalists.
The problem with this view is that were Republican office holders in red, and many purple, states to lose their primaries to other Republicans those candidates would hold almost identical stances on most, if not all, issues. Republican policy would not change, and neither would the balance of power in each house of Congress.
If so, this isn’t about party any more than it is about principle; it is, in fact, about nothing but Republican office holders’ panic at the thought of losing their seats in Congress, losing their jobs, their government paychecks, their privileges and perquisites — men and women who would, in other circumstances be faceless nobodies that, by dint of election and the soap box it provides, get to be somebodies.
The question must be asked, then: should the fate of a nation and 230-year-old experiment in (lower-case) republican democracy be sacrificed on the altar of politicians’ self-image, any more than it should be sacrificed on the altar of Donald Trump’s personal solvency and desperation to stay out of prison?
Mr. Gordon, you are a man after my heart. However, I suspect it's time we get past our hopes that the GOP will act rationally.
You can't awaken people who are only pretending to be asleep.
1
This is rich! Facts and truth have left the republican party. At the core of the republican party - there's no there there.
Despite the comically horrific partisan performance of Jordan and Nunes, to name only the two worst, I have to think that they and the vast majority of Republicans in Congress would prefer to be working with a President Pence. So why don't they seize this opportunity to throw the Dimwit Grifter out the door onto the street? Because they are afraid that the same voters who put him in office will put them out, that's why. They are putting their own personal interests ahead of what they know would be better for the country. I can only hope that a Blue Wave shows them how wrong they were, and achieves what they fear most.
The brave women who bravely spoke the truth during these hearings need mentioning as well in this thread (not sure why omitted ?) ; Ambassador Fiona Hill, Ambassador Maria Yavanovitch, Laura Cooper, Jennifer Williams.
Yet another retired Republican with a sense of honor. Are there any in elected office?
1
This is not about "undo[ing] the results of the 2016 election." That is just more rhetoric. It is about impeaching the sitting president for high crimes and misdemeanors. They really are two different things.
1
Thank you, Senator. We are desperate for patriots. I hope you are the first of many to follow.
Finally, a clear call to duty in this cacophony of posturing and fear mongering.
Could the GOP be more willing to consider once their primary season is over and the threat from Trumpers resides a bit, then claim sanity and vote for impeachment?? One could hope
I have officially left the Republican party and will vote for anyone who is not Donald Trump.
Great article. Tragically, it was published in the wrong newspaper. For Dem readers, it preaching to the choir. For Trumpsters, it's fake news. Publishing in the WSJ would have been better platform for reaching free-thinking Reps and Indies, who actually might call their elected officials to support impeachment. Let's hope the Senator is asked to speak on Fox or One America News Network so that he might reach the people that really need to hear his message.
1
I hate to disillusion Mr. Gorton, but the ONLY thing his craven fellow Republicans care about is clinging to power by ANY means. They have been publicly exposed as caring absolutely nothing about our country, or the rule of law. They have fully embraced their tin-pot despot, and the oligarchy he fully represents. If he is in earnest, he is sadly wasting his breath. The Republican Party has been unmasked as the criminal enterprise it has been heading toward since Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan joined.
1
I get angry every time I read an article like this that encourages Republicans to do the right thing. As if! What alternative universe have you been living in? I am truly mystified at what such authors are thinking. Do they really believe that suddenly Republicans will take to heart the reasoning of a fellow party member? Spare me. I think we passed that point a long time ago.
2
Poor Joe Biden! His son was paid a million dollars a year just to consult on Ukrainian matters while his dad was in charge of them at the White House, and for some reason some people think this might have been an indicator of corruption. It's all so unfair. The idea that it might have been a matter of investigation . . . what a joke. I would pay Hunter Biden for his opinion on Ukrainian energy development any day of the week. I'm sure he knows vast amounts, as indicated by his extensive resumé in Ukrainian energy matters.
What I find most offensive about this whole sordid affair is the Republicans had their chance to 'get' Hillary Clinton. They grilled her for 12 hours. She sat there, answered questions, and put up with the attacks and walked out of the hearing room. Do I think the Clintons are as pure as the wind driven snow? I do not. But they defended themselves. Trump refuses to have anyone else stand their and present any defense. So when Trump is willing to sit there for 12 hours and be questioned and allowed to present his side of the story, then let's talk. You are all cowards for refusing to allow a full investigation. I cannot imagine myself, if I were at the end of a long, previously distinguished career, allowing a person to drag me willingly through the mud and totally degrading myself. I guess your goal is to give the Clintons a run for their money on being despised.
1
Thank for this article. But I fear the people that you want to persuade are out of reach and out of touch.
2
Trump was elected.
Impeachment is a constitutional process brought forth when crimes or misdemeanors have occurred.
Trump has been blatantly committing crimes and misdemeanors
2
Biden told Ukraine: “If you don’t fire the prosecutor who has targeted my son’s company, you’re not getting $1B from the U.S.” That can also be called a shakedown. Trump telling China it needs to do this or that, or the U.S. will increase tariffs, is in effect a shakedown. Bottom line is this is nothing new. Certainly nothing to be screaming impeachment about. Time to pull down the curtain on this charade. Time for Adam Schiff and company to end their silliness.
1
The Republicans’ complicity in the crimes of the President extends a narrative many nations have experienced in their dealing with the USA. It’s the story of the USA as the invader and pillager of other nations’ resources. Truth be told the USA expanded at the expense of many indigenous nations in the Americas. That is a story of treachery and betrayal too. That was also a time when entire political parties kept their unity in silence or lies.
1
What's that sign behind the Congressmen?
"Days since Adam Schiff claimed he didn't know the identity of the whistleblower?"
This is the kind of garbage put on podium's of Congressional panels?
No wonder we're in trouble. Big trouble.
3
Republicans have rarely put country above party. Wendell Willkie did so, so did Arthur Vandenberg and those who nominated Eisenhower in 1952. They did so in the Nixon scandal. I know of no others since then.
1
In watching the behavior of Nunes, Jordan and others during the live testimonies last week I was reminded of an expression I often heard in Texas...Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
I cannot for the life of me understand how so many humans can sell their souls out for Trump. How can they face their children?
2
Trump was elected.
Impeachment is a constitutional process brought forth when crimes or misdemeanors have occurred.
Trump has been blatantly committing crimes and misdemeanors
1
Would that Republicans might read these words and allow them to sink deeply. And that Democrats, twenty years down the road, might do the same.
1
Thank you Mr Gorton,but they won’t listen.
1
Great idea. A trial in the senate with Hunter Biden and Adam Schiff being called to testify would finally expose our Leftist handlers for what they are. We need a trial in the senate. We won’t have one though, because the craven democrats know that it would destroy their party and ensure Mr. Trumps victory in 2020.
1
If only any non-former GOP senators had the slightest shred of integrity or backbone this might matter.
1
The only Republicans willing to speak out against our manifestly corrupt and lying con man of a president are former members of the national legislature. ALL current members of the national legislature, including those who were so vocal about the supposed transgressions of Hillary Clinton, are curiously silent about the numerous and obvious transgressions of the president and the majority leader of the Senate. Evidently they are either so afriad of Trump they won't say anything about or to him, or their desire to hold onto the White House outweights everything and anything else. Frankly, it's disgusting.
2
I read in a column recently something like "there's a reason the book 'profiles in courage' was so thin. It's not the norm."
This is such a low hanging fruit moment for a Republican to step forward and break with their party and denounce the criminal in the White House. Instantly world famous.
And all the rest of the Republican dominos will fall and he'll be gone.
Just takes one person. He is holding on to that job by a thread. Who will it be ya think?
At the time of the Watergate hearings Senator Gorton was the Attorney General of Washington. He is a highly accomplished legal scholar and a committed leader among traditional Republicans.
"From what I have read, it seems clear that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was subjected to a shakedown."
I agree. Coverage of Trump & Zelensky meeting together is eerily similar to the Helsinki Putin & Trump video. Watch the body language. Zelensky was clearly intimidated by Trump, much as Trump was cowering in the presence of Putin.
If a democratic president committed the very same as DJT is accused the whole of the Republican Party would be screaming for his impeachment. Period.
2
"Facts? We don' need no stinkin' facts!"
That's what almost every Republican in both the House and Senate are saying. And Lindsey Graham said exactly that.
Well, no one would describe Donald Trump as a man with "incredible virtue."
So, there's that...
A melancholy reminder of what Republicans used to be.
1
"Qui tacet consentire videtur" - He who is silent gives consent.
It did not work well for Sir Thomas More but it was no less true in his day than it is now.
Take heed, Republicans. Be careful about your allegiances, your oaths of office and your souls.
1
ANYONE with a functioning brain can discern, with a surface analysis of the facts of the Ukraine case, and by simply paying attention to Donald Trump's and his enablers' behavior, add their lack of any factual exculpatory evidence, then the only logical conclusion is, Donald Trump and his henchmen, are guilty as Hades. Not to impeach Donald Trump, the central figure, and instigator of these high crimes and misdemeanors, is a dereliction of duty by the House of Representatives. It will also expose the Republican Senators as a gutless gang of Trump sycophants, not a good historical reference.
2
For decades, Slade Gorton supported everything that brought us here.
Now he has feels.
I think it's kind of sadly cute that Mr. Gorton seems to believe that the Republican party of today cares at all about truth, morality, or patriotism.
*Beautifully* written and thoughtfully argued. You should submit this same editorial to the wall street journal, the national review, politico and the hill. Then you should send it to the dailies in the following cities: madison, Milwaukee, Detroit, grand Rapids, Philadelphia, scranton, pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Tempe, phoenix, orlando and Tampa. Then you should ask mike bloomberg and tom Steyer to actually spend their vast sums on something useful: an infomercial running on any network that will accept it, with this editorial as its centerpiece.
1
"My fellow Republicans..."
You used to say "My fellow Americans..." Somehow, Americans - and America - are getting lost in the weeds while the institutions that make America what it is (supposed to be) are ruined.
#45 falls on the 45th anniversary
I'm glad to see that some Republicans can see that there is something seriously wrong in the Republican party. The facts on the impeachment case are clear and compelling. Yet the Republicans are in lock-step promoting conspiracy theories that have already been debunked. It seems that they only believe investigations and facts that align with keeping their party in power. They don't believe the FBI, the CIA, the Military, the NSA, our allies, the news media. In fact, the only investigators they believe are Republican investigators. Well, Republican and Russian investigators!!! This is insane. This party has clearly gone off the deep end and voted out in a huge landslide. Maybe then they will think about bringing integrity back to their party.
The "election" was rightfully "overturned" in 2018 by the American people. The electorate fairly decided that this administration needed oversight by the Congress. We amended the election of this administration, shall we say. Just as it should be. We overturned rampant abuse of power and criminal behavior in the republican administration (and R. Senate as well, most likely).
2
And in this editorial lies the crux of this whole impeachment ordeal: Will Republicans in the House and Senate be objective in their decision on how to rule in this matter, or will they be blinded by the golden halo many see above Trump's head? It was the turning away from Richard Nixon by conservative Republicans in the Senate that forced Nixon to resign. Thank you Senator Gorton for showing America there are sensible Republicans in this country. Federalist Paper number 75. I'll remember that. Once again thank you for your candor.
3
If ever the actions of the accused are indicative of their guilt, these are such actions.
The 2016 election was partially undone by the 2018 election in which the people elected a democratic-majority House, which is charged with oversight of the executive and, in extraordinary circumstances, with impeachment of a president. So the House isn’t undoing the results of an election but doing what is constitutionally required as a result of an election. Donald does not have a constitutional right to the presidency.
4
Well written, thoughtful, factual.
The Republicans in Congress and the Senate will ignore the points you have made and the logic you have expressed.
3
This is a heartening article. We need more Republicans to love their country more than their party. Many thanks.
11
Specifically, we need more current Republican office holders to put the country ahead of their own narrow electoral interest. What we need and what we’ll get are two different things, I’m afraid.
3
Thank you. My only disagreement is with your assertion, and the current rhetoric of this administration, that impeachment undoes the 2016 election. I disagree. He was elected. Impeachment holds him accountable for actions during his presidency. To state otherwise shifts the blame.
23
I wish people would stop framing this as undoing the 2016 election. This is a process separate from that election that obviously could not happen without the 2016 election. The 2016 election put Trump in office. What he did or did not do with that honor is the subject of the impeachment inquiry. For the members of the House not to pursue this would be a failure of their duty to the people who elected them and their duty to their oath to protect the Constitution.
26
I am really tired of the "Undoing the 2016 Election" line that the Republicans keep using. The impeachment process isn't undoing that election. Hillary Clinton won't magically become President and all of the damage that the Trump administration has inflicted on America and the rest of the World won't be instantly healed.
It also ignores the fact that Mike Pence was chosen by the Electoral College as part of that 2016 Election. It is doubtful that Congress would remove both Pence and Trump at the same time (assuming there is even the moral fortitude in the Senate to remove Trump, which there doesn't seem to be), so no election is being undone.
Just stop gaslighting the American public and feeding falsehoods to your base. Live up to your "Law and Order" plank and vote for the indictment of impeachment and the verdict of removal.
19
I am a scientist governed by the rule of ethics faced by every scientist. It is not the passion of our beliefs that governs us. It is the cold observations made in the laboratory.
Our democracy is now confronted with the cold facts of the laboratory observations being described by those risking the comfort they could have by remaining silent. The Republican Party, which we need as part of this great test, is responding passionately, but not to the facts.
I know this country is not made up of scientists under the rule of ethics we face as scientists. But we have a rule of law that we must face together. Does the oath all in elected office have taken to uphold and defend the constitution mean nothing?
9
Yes. It means nothing.
1
A very good column, with one exception: This is not an effort to undo the 2016 election. Impeachment is the process for charging a (more or less) duly elected president with serious offenses.
If the Senate convicts and removes the president, the vice president ascends to the presidency. Since they're from the same party, the new president presumably would not undo anything the former president did or un-appoint any appointees.
The will of the people, as expressed in the previous election, still stands--assuming it really was the will of the people, and not Russia.
15
Do the senators care about the rule of law? If so they vote to impeach. If they don’t then will enough voters care in November. Seems to me few doubt Trump pressured Ukraine for political gain , but I’m concerned that it’s not a big enough deal , or he got caught but most politicians would do it as well etc may be the response.
4
As many articles there are about Trump in the paper today, I don't know why the New York Times just doesn't change its name to the "Trump Times" because the articles and commentaries rarely cover anything else.
And when they do, like the article this morning on a real issue that concerns people, Medicare For All, it pushes a complete falsehoods...that Medicare for All would be more expensive and that people are afraid of it.
If you look at the polls, 70% of the American people want Medicare for All because they know that medical care is twice as expensive here per capita than in more progressive countries that have rejected privatized insurance and health care as a rip off. And for all the money we pay, we rank 37th in life expectancy.
On the other hand, the impeachment hearings have only served to boost Trump's popularity ratings as the public sees the Democratic Party sink to the same shallow partisanship that the Republican Party embraced when all it cared about was the Bill Clinton's lack of sexual discipline.
Both political parties are out of touch with ordinary people because the political campaigns are financed by special interests. Unfortunately, the same thing is true of the so-called free press, which is financed by the same special interests. Increasingly, billionaires are buying up the once free press and dumbing it down.
The reality TV news media is just one more example of the bad fruit that has been nurtured by 40 years of tax cuts.
5
False equivalence much?
1
Republicans are the only ones who claim these investigations are "about overturning the 2016 election".
Democrats and Independents are asking that the Constitution be upheld and established law followed.
This is what the Oath of Office, that every member of Congress swore, demands.
Trump is not King.
Republicans are not his serfs.
The GOP needs to remember a seat in Congress is not bestowed by the president.
We The People elect Congress.
And we pledge allegiance to the United States of America.
Not to Trump.
We are paying attention and will vote accordingly.
For representatives that uphold the Constitution.
Vote Democratic in 2020.
Every office, every seat.
15
The GOP has been about nothing other than winning the next election since at least 2009 when Frank Luntz hosted a dinner on the night of President Obama's first inauguration where GOP leaders in Congress, including Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy, conspired against President Obama and the American people by agreeing NOT to work with President Obama on ANYTHING.
Now, the party has become a Trump cult that will defend him against any transgression. I say and say again that Trump could shoot somebody on 5th Avenue and Jim Jordan would say: "what about the Steele dossier", and Kennedy in the Senate would claim that we do not have all the facts.
11
I went and looked up Senator Gorton's vote during the Clinton impeachment. He voted note guilty on the perjury article and guilty on the obstruction of justice article. He was one of several Republican senators (another was Alabama Senator Richard Shelby) to split his vote and break ranks.
Those votes, no matter the vastly different circumstances today, give Mr. Gorton's voice added credibility. Clinton's obstruction must seem like a glass one-quarter full given what we see today. Trump refuses to testify (so far) so there can be no perjury charge, but as far as incessant public lying and disinformation there is no contest. With respect to obstruction of justice, President Clinton was an amateur.
9
Thank you Senator Gorton for penning this. I've always had a deep well of respect for you when you served our country with great dignity.
How quickly have times changed along with the mindset of our politicians, huh.
I really hope that you emailed your concerns to the former House and Senate members that you served with, whom are still in office. How wonderful would it be, if one of your former Senate colleagues, read your words into the record of the Senate!
Like you, I really dislike seeing our Democratic Republic being undermined, not only by a rapacious President but also by a feckless Republican party that seems very determined to protect it's party leader, no matter the cost to the country.
7
„Is there an offense serious enough to undo the results of the 2016 election?”
That is not what impeachment is. Please stop repeating that misinterpretation time and time again. The election is not being undone. Even if Trump is removed from office, Pence will step in. He, too, was elected in 2016. The people’s choice is still being honored.
17
I love how people think that fear of “history” will motivate Republicans to act. They fear, Trump, being “primaried, and Fox News not history. Sadly, our politicians think short term and immediacy not long term and legacy.
8
Thank you, Senator Gorton.
Your example is heartening, as is your advice.
Republican members of the House and the Senate would best be advised to heed your word.
12
This is the language I was taught to expect from our leaders. Thank you, sir, for speaking up. It has become increasingly difficult to remember that there was once a Republican Party whose members had intellect and integrity and who understood that their oath of office required them to put country before party. It is only in recognizing the necessity of answering that call that a bipartisan Congress, and indeed the Country, can flourish.
17
Fifty years from now? What is the actual use of 20-20 hindsight in a post-fact America? When facts are matters of opinion today, they’re certainly not going to be agreed upon when the history of our time is written. That is what Republicans are counting on.
7
I'm sorry to say it, Mr. Gorton, but the Republicans presently serving in both houses of Congress are not your 'fellows.' Any resemblance to the political party you once proudly served, died on the day the present Republican Party nominated Donald Trump to be president. The party is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Donald Trump, Inc. There is no reasoning with a corporation, Mr. Gorton; its essence is transactional, not political or philosophical. It exists only to be bought or sold. My advice to you and to other decent, former Republicans is sell. Sell all the shares you own in the Republican Party. It's on its way to bankruptcy.
40
As a resident of Washington, I know all about Slade Gorton, ex-Senator and beaten twice as an incumbent. He is also on the board of the Discovery Institute, notable for its advocacy of intelligent design (a pseudo-scientific argument for creationism). What he is doing with this article is trying to elevate his public profile. However, it may mark a trend of Republicans willing to throw The Donald under the bus. I hope so. My suggestion is to force Trump to resign and get behind Pence as Presidential nominee and Nikki Haley as his VP pick. That would steal a lot of thunder from the Democrats.
2
Yes, a theocracy led by two tRump enablers is what the country needs. Pick again.
36
@Steve Cohen - I already sent a $100 donation to Elizabeth Warren. Pointing out how vulnerable the Dems are does not make me a Republican. Have you put your money where your mouth is?
Imagine supporting a Pence/Hale ticket? They have disqualified themselves for many reasons, the most important is their elevation of trump as God’s gift to our country. Sick loyalty does not qualify you for anything.
1
As affirming as it is to hear from a reasonable Republican on this subject, Senator Gorton's advice falls on deaf ears. There is no shaming or raising of consciousness that can move this GOP because it is no longer a mere enabler, fearful of Trump or his base, but a full-fledged conspirator with the President and his staff. Its correctly perceives that if the President falls, the GOP will fall with him and forfeit power for decades. Why then should it hesitate over its soul when its triumph appears nearly complete?
17
It's heartening that a former Republican Senator has come forward to state the obvious, that our president was involved in the "shakedown" of an ally in desperate need of our support in their defense against Russian aggression. In fact, Ukraine has recently lost 14,000 of their people fighting against Putin and Russia.
Although I believe America needs to get Trump out office for his criminal behaviour, it is not to nullify an election. It's because he's a threat to our national security.
27
I feel the need to make the point -> This won't undo the result of the 2016 election, it would remove Trump for what he has done since that time.
Even if were he to be removed, so much has already happened.
Surely the "results of the 2016 election" is not a legitimate
impediment to indict the behavior in office of the last three years . That's just a smokescreen at this point.
20
@togldeblox
Youd be correct if the idea if impeaching Trump just came up recently.
Democrats have been talking about it since the day he was elected, before he even took the oath of office.
When you want to impeach the President for jaywalking, every time he jaywalks, over a 3 year period, it starts to lose its luster.
Unfortunately today’s Republicans, especially in the House, are too far down the rabbit hole of the President’s making to see the light of day.
When you have a former governor and cabinet secretary see the president as chosen by god, rational thought has truly lost.
Rep Nunes decried the impeachment hearings as a circus, and less than a week later we discover he should be a fact witness if not a co-defendant with the President.
There won’t be any sudden Republican epiphany as more damaging evidence against President Trump is revealed. Rep Schiff simply has to put the brakes on his process since new evidence is coming forth rapidly and none is exculpatory for the President. Also Congress is winning court cases regarding Presidential total immunity and Trump taxes. If Rep Schiff allows time for the cascading evidence to mount, maybe House and Senate Republicans will have the cover they evidently need to shed their Trump-tinted glasses and face the President for who and what he really is.
9
Appeals to conscience and duty have little influence on those who have sold their souls to Trump. You think Mitch McConnell or Lindsey Graham are suddenly going to display scruples? Maybe in the 1980s, but not in these times of hyper-partisanship.
13
@ Pooch. The Republican Party as it stands deserves to die. It is corrupt beyond measure, beyond belief. It is not the Republican Party my father belonged to 50 years ago: he would be horrified. Yet, out of its ashes might grow something more palatable. I don’t believe the democrats would sustain a one party rule for long despite the death of the GOP. They themselves are too divided.
I fear more for the country if trump is not removed from office. We must stand for rule of law, morality, and for a presidency that does not shakedown its allies or adversaries with extortion, and for a presidency that upholds the constitutional checks and balances on his power. We cannot absolve him from these crimes and expect our form of government to survive. We are in an existential crisis with this impeachment and Republicans had best take heed.
26
@Elizabeth
Democrats are making open borders and socialism central to their "forward" agenda.
I bet your father would have been horrified at that too.
BTW, accusing anyone of corruption should be backed up with proof.so far, none of these accusations, be it Russian collusion, Kavanagh being some sex fiend (in high school no less), or "bribing" the Ukranians have been backed up with any proof. All hearsay, all accusations.
Years ago, that didnt fly. Im sure your dad would tell you that now.
I wish Gordon and Trump and all others would stop referring to impeachment as undoing the results of the 2016 election. If Trump is removed from office after a Senate trial, H. Clinton will not become president. None of Trump's actions and policies since inauguration will be reversed. All of the judicial appointments will stand. Our damaged alliances will not be repaired. The country's standing as a global leader and a model for others to follow will not be restored. The results of the 2016 election will not be undone. These are the facts, no matter what I might prefer.
56
Thank you Senator Gorton. Appreciate you speaking up & trying to remind the members of your party about the importance of their responsibilities. I hope more Republicans start to speak up so we can start moving in a healthier direction for our country.
13
Thank you for this op-ed but I have zero faith any Republicans will put country before party. If they’ve gone this far in their gerrymandering, vote-suppressing, anti-democratic, unconstitutional ways, what in the world makes you think they’re suddenly going to become upstanding individuals and decide that, hey, maybe we shouldn’t trash democracy after all?
24
Everything he says makes sense with one exception: unless he feels Pence needs to be impeached too, convicting Trump in the Senate would not "undo" the 2016 election, it would substitute one Republican (Pence) for another. So... nice try, but still guilty of forgoing fact in favor of rhetoric.
13
Someone recently commented that there are probably no more than 7 people in Washington who actually like Trump as a person. I wish I could give credit for the comment. We all know that the Republican Party - my party since Barry Goldwater in 1964 - is being eaten from within by this twisted, authoritarian egomaniac. Republicans in Congress are trapped. If they convict him, the morally correct thing to do, his base will not vote, and in 2020 the party will collapse for years to come. It is existential for Republicans, terrible for America and unimaginable for a democracy to have one party in absolute control of America's future. We can only hope that the House investigation will expose him to all for he isn't, and for us to use the the unassailable power the Constitution gave 'we the people'. Vote him out.
7
@Pooch - If you remember Goldwater, you should also remember how the Republican Party came back after his 1964 defeat. They did it by having a ground game, something the Democrats STILL don't get. The Republicans contest every local election, send their people out to county fairs and council meetings, encourage the extremists to do the heavy lifting in public confrontations, appeal to the lowest common denominator, take money from all kinds of corporate lobbyists and actually feather the nests of their base. The Dems try to do this and fail. The Dems are actually lazy too, which is why they rely on Wall Street money and big events. Nixon won in 1968 because he did his homework and hit Johnson and Humphrey in their weak spots. The scorn and viciousness was immense, but it worked. I am not worried about Trump as I survived Nixon.
“When party and officeholder differ as to how the national interest is to be served, we must place first the responsibility we owe not to our party or even to our constituents, but to our individual consciences.’’ – JFK
11
If Trump betrayed the Constitution, what about those that assisted him?
18
What was the shakedown? An unfulfilled promise to investigate a political opponents son for influence peddling. Egads, the sky is falling: Impeach!
2
@Scott Ewing
So if you and a few friends, plan to rob a bank, buy a cache of weapons, gloves and balaclavas, but on the way to rob the bank, their car breaks down outside the bank, then they have not committed a crime?
13
@Scott Ewing
When you are blithe about bribery and other attempted crimes, you don't seem more reasonable than the people you want to ridicule.
3
Just because the gun misfires doesn’t mean you didn’t intend to kill. But, really, your argument is a kind of misdirection. Trump was seeking something of value in his re-election efforts for a foreign government and that’s illegal.
2
50 years from now? What can we do now?
2
It is refreshing to see a Republican public figure stand up for truth, disheartening to reflect that his perspective is quaint, and depressing that this piece needed to be written at all.
20
Appreciate the former senator's perspective. My question is this: Why is he writing in the NYT, and not in Drudge, Red State, National Review, Fox News, etc? By and large--and I'm underselling it here--NYT readers are not the ones you need to convince on this issue.
It's time for more than private conversations with fellow Republicans where concerns are shared over a drink. If Republican leaders are serious--and in good faith I believe some of them are, they should take public stands among their own partisans. Prevailing xenophobia means many of their party members are not going to listen to anyone deemed an outsider.
Doing that might cost the senator something--unlike this op-ed. Sadly, we're all still waiting to see principles put to a real test.
36
There is no way on God's green earth Drudge, National Review, Red State, Breitbart, etc would publish former Senator Gordon's piece.
1
Thank you Senator Gordon for your honesty and integrity. It will be difficult for me to forget what our current Republican party is (not) doing for the country.
9
My father and his friends are proud independent voters. Several of them participated in an impeachment poll by CNN. Although they recognized Trump's actions as a form of bribery, they didn't see the harm at least not until they heard the testimony of Fiona Hill. She left them speechless. They now believe Trump should be impeached.
39
Thank you, Senator Gorton, for your honesty and integrity.
If there were more Republicans like you in the US House and Senate these days, I might still be a member of that party.
16
"The facts — not rhetoric — should answer this question: Is there an offense serious enough to undo the results of the 2016 election?"
It seems the impulse to repeat inane lies affects even those rare honorable Republicans who otherwise show a sincere commitment to good-faith, civil debate.
I would like to hear someone explain how removing Trump from office would "undo the results of the 2016 election." If Trump is booted, the Republicans' corrupt tax giveaway will continue sapping the country's fiscal health. His manifestly corrupt agency officials will continue debilitating workers while enabling environmental destruction and predatory finance. And the judiciary will continue to be saturated with right-wing corporate sycophants chomping at the bit to tear down every policy, existing or proposed, with the potential to somewhat curb the ruling class's depredations.
Undo the results of the 2016 election? If only.
31
A great piece of advice. Every citizen must listen to Slade's advice and pursue the case based only on facts, nothing else.
8
Yes but they have their own facts.
One thing Republicans keep saying is the President Zelensky said he didn't feel pressure. Of course he did. Talk about a rock and a hard place.
He told Sondland the day after the phone call about the three sensitive subjects Trump mentioned. Zelensky was most likely under extreme pressure and on high alert.
If he agreed with Trump's demands the Democrats would cry foul and he would risk all future aid. If it didn't agree with Trump's demands more of his countrymen would die and Putin would gain power and influence. His country was a stake.
By the mere fact that Zelensky resisted for months, saying he didn't want to be involved in our politics is proof. Any more assertive than that and he risked losing everything. He delayed a commitment to the announcement of the two investigations for as long as he could without jeopardizing the security assistance. Finally, with no other options available he set up the "Public Box" Trump demanded.
But for the whistleblower and the collapse of the scheme, he would have done it to save his countrymen. But, make no mistake... he knew it would be at the peril of his administration. I'm guessing the pressure was heart stopping. But don't expect him to ever admit it because he still has to deal with Trump for 1-5 more years.
31
@My Country Tis of Thee It is truly amazing that Zelensky held out as long as he did. Zelensky was so desperate for American support in facing the Russians, that he denied being pressured after Trump got caught in hopes of a White House meeting symbolic of US support. Had Trump not been caught before the deed was done evidence points to a great likelihood that he would have announced an investigation during the cancelled CNN interview.
Thank you Senator, for speaking the truth. I hope the Senate heeds your wise words. However, I don't think they have the guts to put country before party. What is clear, is the Republicans in the house intelligence committee did not. I'm sure it is not easy to go against your party but thinking about the country first should make that decision easier.
13
Dear Senator Gorton: Thank you for this support of our constitution and of our very unique American democracy.
My hope is that you are also privately engaging other republican senators and leaders of the GOP.
19
"The facts — not rhetoric — should answer this question: Is there an offense serious enough to undo the results of the 2016 election?" They are not undoing the results of the election, they are prosecuting the criminal behavior of the person who was elected (by the electoral college).
20
We should perhaps all take a break from this and watch (or read, though i admit not having read more than a few pages myself) The Caine Mutiny.
Was Queeg a hazard to the ship, his men, and himself? Yes. Would the ship founder without his removal from command? Almost assuredly.
Impeach , then.
But as the lawyer in the story shows, the crew helped drive him to this state by their rejection of his command and leadership.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand."
Trump may well be our Queeg, ripe for removal from office, but we must also ask how so many of us helped get to this juncture-- those who voted for him, and those who were determined to see him fail.
There really aren't any innocent parties in this sad story. But moving forward, we should maybe seek candidates who won't make these calamities seem almost inevitable.
5
Wrong. Trump campaigned in 2016 by welcoming Russian interference. As President he abused his power by doing the same thing with a different country. He told us exactly who he is, and he did this to himself. Skip the Caine Mutiny and watch the news.
34
Every President has to deal with those who want him to fail. Obama had that problem as well. But Presidents don’t get a pass just because of that.
There was no justification for Trump’s violations of the law.
30
So, what you are saying is he is a weak leader that can't handle the pressure of the oval office. I agree with you.
8
I’m grateful for Republicans who speak truth to power, but I wish they’d speak out more to the Conservative base instead of preaching to the choir in the Times.
32
Would that every Republican had half this sense of responsibility to the facts and the Constitution. What the Republicans don’t realize is how damaging their unwillingness to listen to facts is to their party. The great irony here is that the think they are protecting the party when, in FACT, they are destroying it.
11
Part of the problem is that the Republican party today is not the party of Nixon left. The visceral disdain that the parties have for each other today was not present back then, and of course Fox News did not exist.
Today's political environment is a different, and much more dangerous and explosive mix. Trumpsters hate the opposition more than they love their president. It's about not letting the liberal lovers of black people, feminists, undocumented immigrants and socialists win, and at any cost.
Bob Barr made some absurd comment recently at a Federalist Society event about how Republicans are the measured and mature party and do believe that the ends justify the means.
What we are dealing with today is a party full of people who will say and do anything to avoid admitting they are wrong, or giving up any power. The Kavanaugh confirmation, and the extreme gerrymandering are additional evidence. Soul less party, immoral people.
20
So, if Democratic Congresspeople vote to withhold military aid from Israel until they announce they are investigating the Trump family for corruption, Republicans will be fine with it?
There is such a double standard in this country. Even Republicans expect more integrity and less corruption from the Democrats than they do from the GOP. Look at how much they tried to spread conspiracy theories about Obama using his office to bring down Trump before the 2016 election. Yet now they say using the power of the presidency to force foreign governments to investigate his political rival is “politics as usual.”
13
(I love Israel and only used them as an example because of the current Netanyahu corruption investigation, the Kushners’ political involvement there, and the way politics works in our country. That sounds like a satiric disclaimer, but I actually do love Israel!)
Finally some common sense from a republican. Facts are the facts we need to impeach this so-called president, not alternative facts.
8
Facts are only facts if people believe them as such. And half the country doesn’t believe the facts. They prefer the fiction fed to them by republicans and right wing media.
4
Actually, a fact doesn’t require your belief. That’s why it’s a fact.
9
Thanks Senator... Time someone reminded the current Republican Senators that facts matter and so does honesty.
7
This is merely the most recent example where Republicans do not follow the facts because they know where the facts lead. They do not want to go there. Everyone know that the facts have a liberal bias.
7
It’s really sad that any American has to ask elected officials to look at the facts. And to have to plead. Good grief!
8
There would be credibility to individuals calling for the impeachment of Trump if they were also calling for the disqualification of Biden as a candidate for the Democratic nomination as well as calling for the resignation of Nancy Pelosi/
Biden and Pelosi both have sold influence though their sons.
1
Neither Pelosi or Biden tried to extort a foreign nation by withholding military aid that Congress had already approved in order to get them to investigate a political rival.
Elephants in the White House: J. Kushner and I. Trump are not unrelated to the President of the United States.
Mr Gorton, with all due respect, you are no more a republican than I am .
The party you claim to belong to and I used to vote with is dead.
In it's place is a populist, ideological movement which coalesced around one man and acts in the way similar to authoritarian regimes of Latin America in the 70's . Remember those?
There is no party for the conservatives in these United States right now. Rather than writing editorials pleading with new Republicans to "follow the facts" - which we all know they will not do- you could publicly leave the party which no longer supports your values. That would be a statement of principle, as just demonstrated by the Secretary of the Navy. That has impact.
Editorials pleading for some values which the Trumpian republicans clearly do not have is somewhat hollow.
I, as a conservative, am willing to vote for Sanders and for Warren if I have to, in order to deal with this emergency.
What are YOU willing to do?
19
@Yuri Vizitei I'm sorry, but no self-described conservative is voting for Bernie Sanders. And Warren is a major stretch.
@Erik I've said it before - Warren's policies would be fine with Conservatives in the UK! Sanders is "sort of" centre-left.
3
@Yuri, I agree with your comment until you say there is no party for conservatives in the US.
There is. It’s the Democratic party.
Hilary Clinton was a Republican, Barak Obama claimed he could have been a Republican a few decades ago, and Barak and Bill both governed with policies to the right of Richard Nixon.
You know who doesn’t have a party in the US?
Liberals.
This opinion piece needs to be sent to every Senator so they can’t ignore it! Too many are refusing to even co spider the facts and evidence out of partisan values to hold power! Thank you to the writer and hopefully it’s not just passed over in readings.
3
“The facts — not rhetoric — should answer this question: Is there an offense serious enough to undo the results of the 2016 election?“
I’m so tired of this argument that impeachment is “undoing” the election. If the president is guilty, he is to blame for subverting the trust of the voters who elected him, not Nancy Pelosi, not Adam Schiff, and not Congress.
19
I have great respect for Senator Gorton who I have known since I first met him in Washington State in the 1970’s. I am pleased that he is speaking up now for the basic principles of the Republican Party. How long term members of the party can abide what is currently being done in their name is something I cannot understand.4
5
Urgent request!
Four or five solid sensible Republican senators will save the Nation! We don't have time to waste, this is a matter of our and the world's International Security.Where are the heroes in our Senate? We the people need four or five Profiles in Courage to save our Country. These brave Senators will be forever honored by a grateful Nation! Make history ,Do the Right Thing!
9
It STILL amazes me that the entire GOP seems to have bought into Trump's obvious cons so completely! How can they NOT see whats seem SO obvious to me? Trumps whole show of bravado on every subject seems so transparent, how can anyone not see him for the snake oil huckster he is? How DOES someone succeed in life SO far that they even become a United States Senator at let THIS kind of behavior against our country continue? What about their pledge to protect the Constitution? BTW, although they "may" like the guy, they DIDN'T pledge to protect the "president". Their pledge was to protect the Constitution in all matters foreign AND domestic. That means even to protect the Constitution from the "president". How do they NOT see that?
8
I spend every day wondering the same thing. Perhaps it is that Homo sapiens are not usually capable of hearing or ‘perceiving’ that which they are not yet able to respond to ethically; to ‘perceive’ wrong doing, but not use their power to combat it elicits a very humiliating and painful cognitive dissonance. So instead, their response is to turn a blind eye... or as Simon & Garfunkel so eloquently articulated decades ago: “A man hears what he wants to ‘hear’… And disregards the rest”.
Do you suppose that Putin and/or Xi promised Trump and the Republicans (and, importantly, their major donors/controllers) great wealth and peace if they worked to fracture the United States into smaller, non-cooperating (and thus indefensible) pieces?
I'd note that the primary Republican mouthpieces do not display the intellectual capacity to see past the promise of wealth to the truth...
8
Thank you for this excellent and clear piece. Yes, the process is meant to uncover the truth.
1
Sen. Gorton is asking the party that has tolerated Mr. Trump's 13,000 lies to suddenly get a grip and object to the 13,00nth.
Rather than speaking truth to power, as some 2016 Trump voters seem to have expected, the president and his enablers are speaking power to truth.
3
It's a scientific fact that the eath is more than 5,000 years old. Yet many people, including some who should know better, believe the timetable in the bible as fact
I see the same mentality in a large part of the Republican party. Trump says it ain't so, so the others are unbelievers as we have faith in him and his words.
Could Trump be another David Koresh? is he going to take the country down with him?
7
The warning signs were right out in the open. When he told his followers not to pay attention to what they saw or heard, but to only listen to what he said, that was a dead giveaway.
4
The republicans don’t believe trump. They pretend to because they are afraid of the trump base and a primary challenge. Spineless and self serving.
The ironclad facts proven by Starr were ignored by the Democrats during the Clinton scandal. In fact Pelosi made a speech in his defense. I suspect that the truth is just as irrelevant to her today.
It doesn’t help that malice and resistance tainted both of these impeachments.
2
I saw watched the House Judiciary Hearings 45 years ago. Watching Republicans grapple with the truth, with the choice between country or party, was a lesson in courage. You, sir, I fear, are unfortunately a relic - a republican who cares more about country than party and getting re-elected.
1
Thank you. I only object to the words, “undo the results of the 2016 election”.
Others who object to that framing of impeachment have already pointed out that it does not undo the results of an election. Hillary Clinton will not become president. The Republican administration will not be turned out. Trump’s judicial nominations and proper executive orders will stand.
What happens with impeachment is that an official who has flouted the obligations of the office is removed from it. Nothing could be more proper. Donald Trump may always enjoy the approval of people who voted for him, but they don’t decide his obligations. Congress doesn’t have to keep hands off of “their president” as long as they want him to stay. It has to hold *America’s* president to account under the terms of the Constitution.
17
All those posting comments questioning Mr. Drutman’s logic should instead take hope. Your skepticism may be based on fear rather than on a deeper understanding of history. He is on to something. His view is quite broad, and he is aware of a cycle of change that affects not only nations but all our personal lives. Who among us has not emerged from a crisis with new-found energy or optimism? This is actually typical. It is how growth manifests. That which has outlived its usefulness is shed to make room for growth. This process can go smoothly but it can also be incredibly painful, notably for those with a deep attachment or financial interest in the old way of things. The crisis we are going through now is an especially severe one with many powerful people owning a deep stake in the dying system. The outcome however, is inevitable, and the system being born out of it will be that much more fresh and dramatic for it. Have confidence.
5
Impeachment does not mean “undoing the results of 2016.” That’s done and finished. He won. Now he did something problematic while in office, and Congress is exercising its oversight powers. This is independent of 2016.
26
Exactly! I do not understand the Republican position that this is undoing an election. Impeachment is in the Constitution. It is a viable option when appropriate. And it definitely is appropriate at this point.
10
Because when they claim this, it gets their low information base all riled up.
Sanity and rationale as guides to judgment, who would have thought of it but a retired Republican senator.
Now, let's go viral with sane jurisprudence and weighing of the evidence. I'm not overly hopeful but this is the smidgen of a start. Onward to regain our nation's balance and vision.
1
For several weeks I have been thinking that President Zelensky was being coerced to join a conspiracy among President Trump and his associates to break US election laws.
Finally, I've found someone else who has said something similar! Thank you!
When the actions are stated as Mr. Gorton describes, it is clear that this is impeachable conduct.
7
"The facts — not rhetoric — should answer this question: Is there an offense serious enough to undo the results of the 2016 election?"
As others have said, impeachment does NOT undo the election results. Pence would be president, the Republican administration would remain in power.
8
Put the country before part. If the GOP was able to do this, we wouldn't be in so much trouble.
3
Thank you Mr. Gorton for taking the time to write this wonderful piece. You've coalesced so many important points. I hope more Republicans come forward against the president's abuse of power. One can hardly imagine an even more emboldened Trump should he escape justice.
15
Democracy is not a machine that ratchets forward in inevitable increments. It is incredibly fragile. History is a story of totalitarian conquest. America and Western Democracy is an anomaly in historical time. Every generation is required to bolster the fragile normalcy we take for granted.
In the United States of America its time to recognize the existential threat that Trump and his Russian spin enablers represent. Take to the polls, get involved , and return the country to decency.
14
Impeachment is not "overturning the election", it's upholding The Constitution and our laws. It's Trump who has broken his oath that he swore to all Americans the day he put his hand on the Bible at his inauguration. It's what he did to our country that is wrong not the legal consequences that he will face for his actions.
23
I’ve had enough of the outrage, flag-hugging and drama on both sides. A fact-based discussion to protect the American experiment seems like a reasonable choice at this point. Thanks for the thoughtful editorial.
8
Impeachment was never intended to be a fair trial. If it were, the majority of congress wouldn’t be able to make their own rules. It’s the same in the senate when a trial takes place. A senator, is bound to faithfully enforce the constitution when they take their oath. So does the president. Lincoln, defied his oath, when he refused to enforce a Supreme Court ruling that required habeas corpus rights to Confederates that were jailed. It would seem obvious that he should have been impeached immediately. It was ignored by congress. Not because Lincoln acted illegally, but because the congress and senate wouldn’t represent their constituents voices. I have to ask this former senator, would he have impeached Lincoln, based on the clear reading of the constitution, or read the document in a way that supports the will of the citizens that voted him into office?
@Jay
I'm sure you are making a good point, but it's a bit convoluted. Can you stick to the facts in this case, and respond to what is happening now in the 21st century, not the 19th? I don't know what you mean about "Lincoln, defied his oath, when he refused to enforce a Supreme Court ruling that required habeas corpus rights to Confederates that were jailed. It would seem obvious that he should have been impeached immediately. It was ignored by congress. Not because Lincoln acted illegally, but because the congress and senate wouldn’t represent their constituents voices. " What exactly are you saying that relates to our current circumstances?
2
@Jay
Interesting. Of course comparing Lincoln and Trump on ANY level is absurd! But I'll go along and say that the letter of the law would suggest that Lincoln overstepped his authority. But Lincoln was in a fight to the death and is widely seen as the savior of our Union. If he broke the law or violated the constitution it was with the best of intentions. The fog of war forces us to accept the ambiguity of the law. This is absolutely not true with Trump. Trump is all about Trump and will use the power of the Presidency for his own gain. Trump should be impeached AND removed, period.
3
This is why the GOP is moribund in Washington state and Oregon. The only home for a principled, centrist Republican is in the Democratic party.
Oregon's well-regarded longterm GOP Senator Mark Hatfield would almost certainly be a Democrat today -- and would probably be warned by Democratic leaders not to lean too far "left."
13
I have to add one more voice to agree with almost all the former senator said but one critical point: the impeachment has nothing to do with confirm or undo 2016 election results!
13
the fact is that the House is impeaching the president, not reversing or undoing the election. Trump will not be stricken from the history books no matter what and Pence, who has his job for the purpose of replacing the president and breaking ties in the house will get president, so help us one and all.
7
Thank you for speaking up for what is right and moral over what is partisan and political.
13
Senator Gorton: I'm a Democrat who voted for you -- back when the best candidate might be found on either ticket. Thank you for speaking up for the shared values that made that possible.
17
It's really hard not to notice that the only courageous Republicans are the ones who don't have to worry about primary challenges.
31
@Sean McDevitt
...as well as the two who are still trying to primary Mr. Trump.
1
It is a good suggestion that you make. Or is it an appeal to reason? Or is it a plea or a prayer? Whatever it may be, I doubt that the Republicans will listen. They have shown themselves to be impervious to such things. They have written off morality, reason, their oaths of office, love of country, and the facts. They need to be voted out of office, every last one of them (Romney excepted).
12
I don't hold out much hope of this happening. Reality-based Republicans are an endangered species, they are getting to be difficult to find. The Republican Party as we knew it appears to be on the brink of long-term intellectual and ethical collapse.
18
On the brink?
Excellent article, but the sad truth is that it seen as more hokum from anti-Trumpers by MAGAites.
How ever long the Republican Party will exist in the aFactual Wilderness will determine just how long we will be a rudderless society.
5
Don't get me wrong-- I'm thankful for anyone with a voice, especially a loud one, and especially one belonging to a Republican, who speaks out against trump.
But wake me up when the Republican Senator speaking out is one who's currently serving in that body.
51
Why? What is the motive behind the stubborn disregard and the callous dismissal of evidence? What is to be gained? For many, every day that the Republicans deny facts and/or disregard the Constitution is a day that they lose further respect and credibility in our eyes.
it's a mystery to me, as I try to understand the reasons for the Republicans "strategy", to envision a strategy for returning the Republicans to normalcy, for winning back the trust of the electorate and many allies across the globe.
8
Exactly the brain twister I’ve been struggling with. What does the GOP stand for? What principles? What are they trying to do? Obamacare is a good example. Repeal because ... well, it “Obama”care. What else needs to be said?
They don't care about losing face to those who they believe want to destroy the country as they watch their king sell it out to the Russians.
1
Nixon resigned rather than face impeachment, after the 4th largest landslide in Presidential history. No reasonable person thinks his election was overturned.
Trump couldn't even win the popular vote.
61
It is my wild guess that if Trump receives internal polling data in which he is losing the 2020 election, he will resign well in advance due to “health” allowing Pence to take the hit.
Trump can’t bear to lose.
Thanks to the Senator for speaking to process and substance. It is by his example we may see others lend their expertise and experience in such matters. If the process in not being honored, is it not the duty or at a minimum moral thing to do, to add your voice to the chorus. I would love to hear from other ex office holders to speak their mind. This should include Ideally, each of our ex-presidents in a common statement of how this is being approached. Will their legacies not reflect their silence?
8
To give some perspective on how far right the Republican Party has shifted over the last 30 years, Senator Gorton was considered a moderate back then—even somewhat conservative for this part of the country. His opinion here, welcome and needed as it is, doesn’t even have a place on today’s Republican spectrum. Even if there were a liberal wing of the party, center seems to be “unquestioning Trump supporter.”
22
I'm proud to be a classmate of Slade Gorton --Dartmouth 1949.
His arguments are straightforward, urging fellow Republicans to act as rational adults. Sadly the party has focussed on the acquistion of power, rather than on civil service, so that we are now faced with a great threat to our constitutional democracy.
21
The GOP idea that Mr. Trump is intent on investigating corruption is laughable. It is also dangerous. The man who has refused to respect the legal requirements of subpoenas...who has refused to hand over documentation required by law...who has intimidated his own staff, demanding they break the law by not showing up when subpoenaed...who has put citizens' lives at risk via tweet. This man is concerned with corruption?
And this man feels so set upon by Democrats - "worse than any president in history" - is a snowflake. Every president is constantly under scrutiny, and has to field incoming fire on a daily basis. Others have done so with grace; not this delicate flower.
And this man who feels so angry that a Ukrainian ambassador would pen an op-ed unfavorable to him. Well, that's how it works, Mr. Snowflake. Sometimes people like you, sometimes they don't. Reacting to every perceived slight by going nuclear is hardly a mature way to handle criticism, and is a severe drain on energy that would better be used actually working for a change.
And then there's representatives like Jim Jordan who constantly mention the "great economy" as if it's okay to break a law or circumvent a requirement or destroy a norm, just as long as people get rich. Which has nothing at all to do with the fact that the president has given a remarkable impersonation of a mob boss, playing with Ukrainian soldiers' lives, just to personally advance.
Those are the facts, and they're indefensible.
36
It's interesting to me how in 1974 Mr Gorton - at the beginning of his career - called for President Nixon's resignation. Yet, not once - unless I missed it - does he now calls for President Trump to either step down or be impeached. Yes, at least, unlike other Republicans, he implores his party to follow the facts, etc, but even this man, at the end of his career seems afraid to go any further.
As for "undo[ing] the 2016 election" to describe an impeachment proceeding. No, this would not be undoing the 2016 election. First, if Mr Trump is removed, we'd get Mr Pence who was elected VP in 2016. Second, and most important, Mr Gorsuch and Mr Kavanaugh and countless other judges would not be removed.
18
@YW
...countless other UNWORTHY judges...
2
The 2016 election was partially undone by the 2018 midterms. The rhetoric that the congress is undoing a presidential election is as intellectually dishonest as they come. It is a constitutional process that exists for a reason.
38
I can understand people’s loyalty to party, which for many citizens is a long-standing association. My parents, for example, were Eisenhower Republicans who remained Republicans for life because they so profoundly admired Eisenhower that they didn’t believe his party could err.
I cannot, however, understand people’s loyalty to trump, a fatally flawed individual, as well as a newcomer on the political scene and the antithesis of most of the Republican Party’s cherished values.
If the Senate Republicans all decided party over trump and voted to convict him as a bloc, they would have safety in numbers. Then they could go home to their constituents and say, “I voted my conscience. I voted to preserve the Republic and the rule of law.” That’s an easy argument to make because it is right.
37
@Drusilla Hawke
And the Trump supporters would vote them out at the next opportunity.
Appealing to this generation of GOP leaders is a fools errand. Mr. Gorton, you should be appealing to Republican voters. GOP leaders follow their constituents. Yous should be demanding that Republican voters do their civic duty and truly engage in the process -- not lap up Fox News propaganda and conspiracy theories without question.
13
If a tree falls in the forest. etc.
If the President of the Ukraine says...
1
Facts are not stubborn things. It’s a witch hunt. There’s a Ukrainian server hiding in a Crossfire basement and the moon landing was faked. Also Area 51. And Cruz shot JFK. I’m just saying.
10
@Dr if: Your examples are what Norman Mailer invented a word for: factoids. Non-facts that take on the appearance of fact because the assertion appeared in print somewhere.
The purpose of this editorial is to shore up the notion that impeachment is the right course. But it is not and I am the rare Democrat who is trying to clue you in.
I’ve already laid out several reasons in previous comments. Today’s reason is that you are ignoring the collective wisdom of 230 years.
From the founding of our nation, career government criminal lawyers have been bound by the rule that you never indict if you can’t convict. (Impeachment is close enough.). It ls not only a rule. It is common sense and consistent with all principles of criminal justice.
You are enamored of the foreign service. They are professional and unbiased. Since 1789, federal law enforcement personnel — better trained and working more complex cases than locals—have been bound by many of the same rules as diplomats.
I don’t intend to explain any further. You’ll just try to explain it away. So I rest my case with this simple argument. Before you ignore the unanimous practice of a million well-trained unbiased professionals, you should look into this.
1
It’s not an indictment. As has been stated ad nauseam, it’s a political process. The senate will never convict, so does that mean the house never impeaches, including the presidents lovely metaphor of shooting someone I’m Times Square?
This act to personally benefit the President happened. We cannot standby and ignore it, whatever the final outcome.
5
If we follow your reasoning, then a projector in Alabama or Mississippi in the 1950s or 60s should never have prosecuted white men for crimes against blacks because all-white juries would not convict. That is an abomination and dereliction of duty. The testimony establishes a strong case for impeachment and the House must proceed accordingly.
Today's Republicans are Russian assets. They foolishly took NRA money financed by Oligarchs who now want favors.
Republicans sold us out.
24
Not only follow the facts, but don't make up any either. Nor follow Russian disinformation.
9
I'm sure that Trump, Nunes and Jordan will label Slade Gorton a nevertrumper.
It is a welcome letter from Mr. Gorton but he might as well spit into the wind for all the good it will do to change the minds of the Trump cultists.
11
Republicans don't believe in facts. Don't take my word for it--just ask Kelly Ann.
11
Sorry but his pleas to the GOP are a fools errand. Love of Trump is above love of country or even god.
5
If only a Republican in office would have the decency to say the same as Mr. Gorton. It is gobsmacking to me that after years of Trump's overtly racist language and policies, after gross malfeasance in foreign policy, after alienating our allies and cozying up to dictators, after inane trade wars and blowing up the deficit, after the endless, almost comical if it weren't so dangerous incompetence of his administration, and after a DAMNING impeachment investigation, that not a single Republican congressperson nor a single Republican Senator has come out with their version of the "Have you left no sense of decency" moment delivered against Joseph McCarthy. Trump is legitimately dangerous to our democracy and yet Republicans degrade, debase, prostrate themselves to him. What will it take??
12
After the national US election of 1940 Winston Churchill sent Franklin Roosevelt a congratulatory cable and mentioned that, although he was pulling for FDR throughout the entire of the election season, he refrained from saying anything that might be interpreted as partisan. Churchill understood that foreigners don't involve themselves in US elections.
On the other hand, the German--NAZI party--embassy did look for ways to secret money to isolationist office holders.
To me the scariest aspect of the Trump White House's communications with foreign governments is our President doesn't understand how wrong mixing internal and international politics is.
But, then no one has confused Mr Trump and Mr Churchill, have they?
11
If only a Republican actually in office, with something to lose, would speak up. Utter cowardice and corruption.
10
Senator Gorton, I hadn't forgiven you for unseating the senior Senator from WA Henry "scoop" Jackson in 1980. You are now forgiven, for stepping forward and appealing to your GOP colleagues to follow the facts and cut the embarrassing clown car and dog and pony show of denial. That Congressman Jordan can resist the facts and harass the witnesses causes me to wonder if he indeed did know of the sexual predator Dr Strauss when an assistant coach @ OSU. His day will come, soon. The news has lately exposed the hypocrisy of the Committee "ranking" member, Devin Nunes and he will go down in flames as well. I'm surprised Congressman Will Hurd, with nothing to lose, ignores the very wording of the Constitution regarding impeachment to declare Trump's crimes not rising to impeachment. If not, what is? In law school, I am told to understand right from wrong and remove bias, one must imagine the crime committed by the other party, is it impeachable in that instance? I leave it to you GOP folks, but there are interviews from some of you that currently expose your hypocrisy when Bill Clinton was impeached for having a consensual sexual affair with a consenting adult. Where that rose to an impeachable offense (lying to grand jury) is absurd. This "POTUS" would never testify....
8
Is anyone still watching CNN, I did and found something amazing. Hillary’s “basket of deplorable’s” have just been renamed a “cult” yes people half of USA voters are now. “Cult” according to CNN.
Wow, gotta keep watching this station, wonder what they will come up next.
2
@Jerry Davenport
Your comment is intriguing, but I am not clear what you are saying. Are you saying that a commentator on CNN called Trump's supporters a cult?
@Jerry Davenport
I believe they are reporting on Tom Brokaw's definition of the under-informed MAGA crowd, their congressional minions, and Trump boot-licking appointees as a cult. Seems pretty accurate to me. Trumpists never question his questionable actions, believe his lies, and espouse fantasy over fact. I believe we have a cult there. When one watches the parade of life and believes everyone is out of step except Trump, yeah, that's a cult.
1
Well, Jerry, try watching Fox, where anyone who speaks against Trump is automatically a spy, traitor or Nevertrumper.
2
If I was a True Red republican these days, it would be my darkest secret. I couldn't look myself in the mirror
6
Dear Mr. Gorton,
Please feel free to jump into the democrat party if you are so disturbed. Try embracing the facts of climate change. Try embracing the facts of a health care for everyone plan. Try not giving yourself huge tax breaks at the expense of the rest of us. If you can't do that, your writing is meaningless.
5
Of course John Adams may have liked facts, but Ronnald Reagan pronounced the Republican version when he said "facts are stupid things." That appears to be the Senate's approach, too.
6
"My Fellow Republicans, Please Follow the Facts."
Hah! Fat chance!
4
yes I watched the great Impeachment testimonies and then went on the media internet and was broadsided by the lies and misinterpretations. Don't worry NYT will tell you what to believe and what are facts. Apparently NYT and the mainstream media believe people are too dumb to know what the facts are in Politics and they need you to believe they have some kind of corner on brain cells.
1
@Darrell
It's not only the NYT that performed the service of re-viewing the facts of the hearings; you can get a completely opposite version on networks that support the president. The author of this piece is suggesting we stop relying on networks, social or other, to tell us what to think, and to look at the facts ourselves. We don't have to spin them in the privacy of our own minds, just look at them.
1
No juvenile, castigating tweet from trump yet? He must be golfing...
5
What crime is described by receiving illegal foreign money in the elections process?
Recently indicted Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman gave RUSSIAN money to numerous Republicans.
Parnas made 20 identical contributions of $661.90 to the:
REPUBLICAN PARTY OF MINNESOTA
North Carolina Republican Party
New Jersey Republican State Committee
South Carolina Republican Party
Tennessee Republican Party
Connecticut Republican Party
Wyoming Republican Party
Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania
California Republican Party
Republican Party of Wisconsin
New York Republican Federal Campaign Committee
Republican Party of Virginia
North Dakota Republican Party
Mississippi Republican Party
West Republican Party of Louisiana
Illinois Republican Party
Kansas Republican Party
Parnas made a donation of $2,700 to:
Candidate Trump
House GOP Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif)
Pete Sessions (R-Texas)
Parnas gave cash to electoral organizations.
VPPence‘s Great America Committee... $5,000
GOP’s “Protect the House” fundraising committee.. $11,000
National Republican Congressional Committee... $3,800
Republican National Committee... $33,400
Trump Victory PAC... $50,000
Fruman gave to:
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.)
Rep. Joseph Wilson (R-S.C.)
9
My Fellow Humans,
Please Understand Fundamental, Selected Relationship Code:
Fitness Beats Truth — Donald Hoffman quote set:
"Fitness and truth are utterly different things."
“Evolution is quite clear, it’s fitness and not truth that gives you the points you need to win in the evolutionary game.”
"Organisms that see the truth go extinct when they compete against organisms that don't see any of the truth at all, literally none of the truth at all, and are just tuned to the fitness function."
"Perception is not about seeing truth; it's about having kids."
Fitness Beats Truth is part of why deception, self-deception & genocide are fundamental apps for relationship interface.
From Robert Trivers, "The Folly of Fools"
"Deception is a very deep feature of life. It occurs at all levels — from gene to cell to individual to group — and it seems, by any and all means, necessary."
"When I say that deception occurs at all levels of life, I mean that viruses practice it, as do bacteria, plants, insects, and a wide range of other animals.
It is everywhere. ...
Deception infects all the fundamental relationships in life: parasite and host, predator and prey, plant and animal, male and female, neighbor and neighbor, parent and offspring, and even the relationship of an organism to itself."
From James Lovelock:
“Under pressure, any group of us can be as brutal as any of those we deplore: genocide by tribal animals is as natural as breathing…”
Helps to get Fundamental.
3
Spitting into the wind.
3
My first thought is: Why are you still a Republican? Obviously, your party has abandoned you. Long ago. Why do you cling on?
3
Dear Senator Gorton,
I am a life-long Democrat. But have never been a rabid ideologue. There was a time when I actually had significant respect for a number of Republican legislators. I may have disagree with may of their policies, but I respected their character, their professionalism, their love of country. I truly wish I could say the same for those currently in office. So, I salute you sir, and thank you for writing this eloquent piece. It gives me some small hope.
8
During the time Mr. Gorton was in the Senate, there was general consensus around those stubborn facts. Today, there are countless sites where a universe of "alternative facts" is promoted and real news is denigrated as partisan or fake.
I think it is this modern world that Vladimir Putin recognized and used to his great advantage in countries like ours where freedom of speech and freedom of the press allow for the alternative fact-free universe to thrive and prosper.
So we are faced with a competition between tribes instead of a search for genuine Truth. It is in this world that we find ourselves dependent on an honest hearing of real evidence in the Senate. In the last few years we have seen nothing to provide us with much hope for that. Somewhere in Moscow Vladimir is smiling.
5
Republicans are following the one fact central to their political existence. They have no other path to power than to participate in “a partisan shouting match divorced from the facts.”
If they had an alternative, they would have dumped Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries.
4
I wish Republicans would explain why it is that Congressional Republicans during the Nixon era understood that truth is important, while today's Congressional Republicans are afraid to even address the facts that have come to light in the recent House hearings. No, instead they have attacked upstanding citizens, including many career foreign service officers who are obviously of the highest integrity and a highly decorated military officer.
We are all waiting for your explanation.
8
At this point I don't think Republicans care about facts. They only care about power. As soon as everyone understands that, and that includes Joe Biden, we'll all be a lot better off in handling the Republican Party and its minions.
7
I'm proud to say I worked, briefly, for Senator Gorton in the late 1980's before I moved over to the D's. That there are so few elected Republicans left who have his integrity is discouraging. Gone are the days of Mark Hatfield and Dan Evans and other Republicans who studied the facts, not a Fox News' Talking Points Memo, before making a decision. The Washington delegation in DC had a bi-partisan softball team, the Apple Corps, and we were all friends. I don't know whether the staff level congeniality is gone with the fact based decision making.
3
Impeachment is not the same as undoing the results of the 2016 election! That's another, very important, FACT.
10
The saddest and most dangerous part of this whole saga is not that a president has betrayed our country and democracy, also betrayed an ally, engaged in bribery and obstruction of justice, and aided an enemy that is attacking us at this very moment. It's that an entire political party is aggressively aiding and abetting his betrayal.
12
There is NO overturning the election of 2016. That was 2.5 years ago and the actions of the house are for violations since then. Pastor Pence would become president, unless of course he was involved in the bribery.
So, please spare us the GOP taling point that the house is attempting a "turnover of the '16 election.
7
Why is this seemingly sincere letter to be delivered only to Republican senators? The author, even though he is a republican, thinks all democrats are already faithfully following facts?
Party is gathering of people who share their beliefs. Republican values, you might have once believed, might not be the ones anymore. If you feel so, leave the party first and join another before speaking up publicly what you think differently.
If you want to change the party as what you think it should be, you should speak up in the party first before blaming your old friends in some hideous way.
@Young
That's not the way it works here.
Trump has pretty much given the Republican Party everything they ever dreamed of in way of policy. There is no way they are going to kill this golden goose that lines their pockets and those of their political donors.
Add to that, the political venom spread by Gingrich and the "no compromise" stance of the Tea Party and Conservative Caucus all the reasonable Republicans have been weeded out or converted to avoid a primary challenge on the "right" and the Democrats are a demonic enemy.
Lastly, the public education system that is so critical to a successful democracy has been systematically destroyed by those who seek to manipulate the public. Ignorance within the voting public has allowed lies and deceit to be accepted as truths. Again and again, Jefferson and other founding fathers exclaimed the importance of a well educated electorate to the success of our republic and preventing the abuse of power.
"I know no safe depositary of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power." --Thomas Jefferson to William C. Jarvis, 1820. ME 15:278
5
Republicans have proven they have no respect for the constitution by the fact that at rallies they are already talking about Trump's third, fourth, and even 5th term.
Perry compares him to the Chosen One and a biblical king.
The Ukraine is not the problem but a symptom which is that the Republicans just want to take over the country once and for all and rule with no regard for our Constitution.
5
I am neither Christian nor American but Christianity began with a turnaround on the road to Damascus.
Maybe it is time to start turning Republicans into Christians. I was taught Jesus was all about fiduciary responsibility. You never know what good health, education and proper welfare will do to a person.
3
@Montreal Moe
They need to be turned into men and women of honor.
1
Of course they should do as you advise them to do. Will they? Perhaps a few at this point will do this. The rest, probably will do absolutely nothing. They will put personal self interest ahead of their country. They have been doing it for years...with every lobby group, super PAC, and donor they could let grease their palms with cash.
3
I'm encouraged that a noted Republican is publicly expressing his recognition of the obvious but I doubt it will do any good, especially with Mr. Gorton's tentative approach: "From what I have read, it seems clear that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was subjected to a shakedown."
"From what I have read, it seems clear? Subjected to a shakedown?" Is that his coded way of saying, "To anyone with even a whiff of intelligence and common sense, it is obvious that President Trump withheld American taxpayer dollars from a foreign country for personal political purposes?"
Not that it matters what he wrote. Trump cultists have no desire to hear from an outsider.
1
What is distressing is the absolute lack of interest in looking at the facts--they are dismissed before they even take form for all kinds of unsupported (being kind) reasons. The posters behind the GOP at these public impeachment hearings show us how partisan they are--no love of country there!
3
“an avaricious man might be tempted to betray the interests of the state to the acquisition of wealth”
Boy, Hamilton envisioned Trump 230 years before he arrived.
7
Let's be precise an clear. Impeaching and convicting Donald Trump does not "undo the results of the 2016 election." Trump won the election and served as President; this is a fact. It is probably also a fact that Donald Trump, through his own acts and faults, deserves to be removed form office. But please stop repeating the mischaracterization that this is about undoing the 2016 election.
7
The Republicans are already conniving with the White House to determine how to acquit Trump and the fastest way they can do it.
Everyone knows an acquittal is as certain as a sunrise - after all, we’re talking about a Senate that unilaterally blocked a SCOTUS nominee.
It’s ok to forgive those Senators who elevate party over the rule of law. But come November, we shouldn’t forget any of their names.
5
The orange elephant lounging around in the middle of the impeachment drama is the gigantic fact that Trump retains the sturdy loyalty of his base, which he stole from the GOP in 2016, thus taking control of the party. It would be clear political suicide for Republican senators to oust the guy, and I can confidently state that they aren’t in the mood to commit political suicide. So however this thing wraps up, it most definitely won’t be with the Senate voting to convict. Perhaps it will play out politically in the Democrats favor next fall. Perhaps not. Time will tell, and I for one look forward to finding out.
With the exception of Romney whose constituents are not Trumpies by and large, not a single Republican, not one, who is in office and desires reelection has demonstrated a sliver of intellectual honesty, never mind some actual courage. I appreciate Senator Gorton's willingness to address his former colleagues, but he's standing in a barnyard talking to swine.
3
I wonder how many of the current Republicans in the House and Senate read the NYT on a regular basis or of the ones who may, how many would read this article. If this retired senator is serious about making his case to them, I suggest he might be better advised to send each and every one of them a direct message instead.
Thank you Mr. Gorton. When I lived in Washington, I never voted for you but respected you. Today I no longer respect hardly any Republican, especially the ones from the state of Idaho. Yes, facts are troublesome things...
1
Put country above party or better,put country before self.
That's all the Republicans need to read and need to know.
If they choose not to,shame on them,history will not be kind to them.
2
0ne should not have to sell his soul to the devil for a political opinion. The GOP needs to remember their actions are going to be weighed by whether or not they do what is right. Right now, they have tipped toward the wrong side.
This op-ed seems to be written with conviction. As some, but too few, of your Republican fellows have spoken, I can think of Mitt Romney for one, albeit very tepidly...., you are giving the American People "some hope" that the voices of reason will listen to the facts and pronounce a judgment accordingly about the impeachment of this president. Unfortunately, as long as your Republican friends in the House and Senate keep cow towing to this President through his Fox News Megaphone, there is not much hope in sight. To me you are just wasting your breath. Nice try though... We, the People will have to just boot him out in 2020. The Republican party is not going to help the People. They are only going to help themselves and their president. Otherwise, they would have done something to correct the situation already. The problem for them is that they will go down with him eventually, as they so deserve.
Can’t wait to read a comment, or op ed by a serving elected Republican supporting this lovely testament to facts, truth ,and loyalty to country. The facts have never been more clear that what this president did is egregious at best and treacherous at worst.
Let’s here from some other Republicans.
3
Time for Rowdy McConnell to realize its time to turn the cattle around. It won't be so hard, once you get a few of them going, what with House Democrats and subpoenas nipping at their heels. Right through a narrow mountain pass with lobbyists on one side and Putin's extortion on the other. Stampede right through the "base". Believe me, they'll resolve themselves into a dew.
1
The most startling revelation as a result of the impeachment hearings to date is that the Republican Party has abandoned decency and the rule of law as they make excuses for Trump's transgressions. Our political system is broken and can only be saved by a massive voter rejection of the Republicans and the wannabe dictator Donald Trump.
Trump is running the country like it is just part of his corrupt family business. Top Republicans stand next to Trump even after his crimes and misdemeanors have been fully illuminated by multiple direct witnesses. The GOP join Trump in his lies and distortions as he attempts to impede the rule of law by obstruction of justice.
No self-respecting American can support Trump's presence in the Oval Office and no amount of hand-waving will ever absolve the Republican leadership for their complete lack of patriotism.
2
According to the Republicans the facts in the case are simple. Ukraine wanted Clinton to win in 2916, hacked the DNC, found "dirt"about Clinton and publicized it in order to defeat Trump. At least, that is the Republican reasoning.
Fox and the Republicans in Congress want us to believe this. the tragedy is that many do.
2
You’re dumb narrative is not what Republicans are claiming. But, it is well established that influential Ukrainians in private and government positions did want Clinton to win and expected her to win.
When this didn’t happen, they had to adjust their “lobbying” efforts.
"Facts"!
What a quaint notion!
I suppose next he'll insist the Constitution and rule of law might somehow still matter to the GOP.
And he quotes the Federalist Papers? Delusional. This crowd doesn't read such things, if they read at all.
In what world has he been living? Ideals, principles, ethics?
Try raw power and access to wealth by any means if you want to motivate this crew. That's what's lights them up.
After having a good laugh at these naive, anachronistic entreaties--then throwing up a bit--I've returned to the travel brochures and reviews of countries where my emigration might be a salubrious one.
2
Thank you Senator Gorton for placing fact, truth + country above party!
Mr. Gorton, by writing in the NYT you speak to the choir. Present your points where Republicans and Trump supporters congregate.
2
Full and final repudiation of the mob boss and band of criminals, including the first family of grifters, inhabiting the White House needs to happen with a RICO indictment of all the supporting cast, past & present. What will it take? Keep prodding and poking the brooding alpha male until he responds by committing a real crime on camera. Not saying, not acting, not alluding, not bragging — doing.
3
Good luck with that. Never happen with the Republicans today. It is a pipedream.
3
Mr. Gorton - Please encourage your party members, affiliates and voters to stop using Fox News as an information source. Things will revert back to normal over a period of time.
Your party and its voters are being held hostage, and might i say brainwashed, by a set of entities - Fox News, Right Wing Radio, Breitbart etc. - that want to create divisiveness in our society because, bigotry and cynicism aside, they also benefit monetarily from it.
Forget how history will view your party. We are so sick and tired of your parties antics that we will wipe them clean from our collective memory. So the time to act is now.
3
The only Republican with the courage to oppose Trump was John McCain and he knew he was going to die. Is that what it takes for Republicans to act honourably?
5
No one can "undue the results of the 2016 election". Trump became president and is now part of American history.
The question is whether he should continue to govern.
5
Finally a Republican with conscience. Bravo Senator Gordon for your commentary accompanied by criitical analysis by historical figures who founded our republic. Their foresight was spot on what is just happening 250 years late. Not sure your compatriots in the party will listen to you but never the less you are on record to be on the right side of history.
3
Former Sen. Gorton is to be commended for his words of wisdom. The impeachment process is one that is entered into with reluctance. It is not a partisan act on part of the Democrats. They are acting because of their oath of office. It is reaction to malicious actions by a President who acted to enrich himself. The impeachment process is a way of preserving separation of powers and the integrity of our government. Being a President, Senator or Congressional Rep. is a service to the country not to oneself. Many Republican House members have dishonored their oath and office by not taking the facts of this matter seriously. If any President (R or D) is not held accountable for their actions then no one will feel they are accountable.
3
Well thought and said - finally a Republican who does not cower. However, it is probably too little and too late. We are now way past the point where facts actually matter.
7
But...will the current crop of the GOP take this sound advice?
It doesn't look promising at this point. Corroborated facts are interpreted as alternative ones, and undeniable proven truths presented are seen as not to be true.
Time will tell if what should be done, is done!
4
Our political system needs major overhaul. It's not working to the benefit of our country.
9
Will only Republicans out of office or those retiring be willing to look at the acts? Show me one who wants to remain in office willing to look at the facts and I will be inspired and impressed.
13
Thanks, Mr. Gorton, to me you are neither a Democrat or a Republican first, but an American. The mere fact that this is how low and fast we have devolved into such corrupt dysfunction speaks volumes about how vulnerable we were and still are. The
jury of the voting public is still out and things could go either way.
Let's hope that truth, law and reason prevail. If they don't, neither will our democracy.
12
So Republicans, elected by people that support the President, should follow former politicians advice and throw the President out?
As a Trump voter, I suspect they know who they work for. And, those elected will be held accountable.
2
They swear an oath to protect our Constitution and laws. They are elected with the understanding that they will protect the nation.
Do those obligations not matter because Trump won an election through the Electoral College or even if they represent districts that favor Trump?
5
@Mike
They work for the United States Congress, not for the Office of the Presidency.
That's who THEY work for.
“Seems”? This right here is the problem with the GOP moderates.
6
Bravo Mr. Gorton - I fear the Senators need all the encouragement you can give before they will step up to their oaths
5
Mr. Gordon, the party you knew as a Republican then is not the same party now. I thank you for you view here and words of advice and patriotism to today's GOP. They will not understand you as they speak a different language, and have become more interested in destroying America, controlling the behaviors of others, and giving more wealth to those who already are. These "Republicans" today are far from any moral, value, or of family values which are quaint, but outdated for them. I do wish that the GOP had stood up to Trump in 2015 and 2016 in the run up to the election. As you likely knew, Trump was an awful human being then and any vision of HIM becoming President ought to have had the GOP Party, then current elected Republicans, former Republican office holders like yourself, and those other aspiring Republican Candidates ALL insist on his exiting the Party due to his unfitness for the office, and tell him to establish his own political party that reflects his view of reality and what America ought to be.
9
I join others in thanking you Mr. Gorton, who --a Republican-- former senator--for facing the facts. As a lifelong (96)--though liberal--independent, I appreciate the need for a right of center second party, and also appreciated men like Gen. E and Wilkie, but now find the demise of such a party--- now in control of men (by and large) who are blind to facts, blind to honesty, blind to the worldwide injury of the unconscionable Trump--a tragedy. I long ago gave up believing Trump would change, but I never thought he would cause as much damage as he has done and is doing--to the environment , to science, to world order, to the climate, and to the honor of our country.
13
Occasionally, a human being will decide, based on principles of love and morality alone, to look out for and lend a hand to their fellow humans.
That is what I see this offering of advice to be. I don’t view the condition that our country is in through the prisms of political party. I see this current process as a common sense check on the quality of government we will live under in the future.
I would earnestly hope that Democrats could also stay away from a Democratic President if a similar set of circumstances occurred.
Country before party.
9
It is easy for Republicans not in office to say this. What matters is that Republicans currently in office will not vote against the wishes of their constituents and we know where they stand. Office holders only think for what is in their own best interests.
9
@Gery Katona
Their constituents don't get to vote on impeachment. And none of those elected officials EVER defer to the "wishes" of their constituents regarding ANY other political matter. So why are they afraid now?
1
The Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee when able to question a "fact" witness who was clearly beyond reproach, like Fiona Hill, chose to make meaningless speeches about the Democratic Witch Hunt, rather than engage with a witness who was more capable than they were. It does not bode well for the upcoming trial in the Senate.
17
Ethics, moral conscience, dignity and integrity are as relevant today as they were 250 years ago. These things are timeless now and always will be, like it or not.
3
Slade Gorton at one time represented my state and I was happy to vote against him. Never would I have expected to see him write such a missive. I suspect that Republicans, as a party, are too far gone to listen to someone such as Gorton, despite his being on the far, far right in what were saner times.
11
I sincerely appreciate Mr. Gorton's contribution, but one objection: Can we please stop this talk of "undoing the results of the 2016 election"? Even if Mr. Trump is impeached in the House, convicted in the Senate, and removed from office, this would not represent undoing 2016's election. Everything Trump and his party have accomplished since his inauguration -- all the judges appointed, all the bills passed, all the orders made -- will still be in place. Power would still move into the hands of a Republican vice-president (assuming he too is not impeached). Removing a would-be tyrant from office through consitutional means is not at all the same as undoing the election that put him there, never mind the nonsensical talk of it representing a "coup".
26
"Fifty years from now, history will not accept the position that impeachment was a referendum on the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. "
It will not be fifty years from now that history will harshly judge these Republicans. It won't even be five. The writing is on the wall and it is very clear.
16
Thank you for sharing this reasonably and well reasoned perspective. The process so far has been difficult to listen to - especially the disrespect of those testifying.
8
Your fellow republicans? Trump wants loyalists NOT republicans. The GOP died when it allowed Trump to run on its ticket in 2015. Our democracy died when he was inaugurated following Russian interference in our elections. He will be re-elected. It will be wrong on every level and show everyone that the electoral college is simply for sale.
22
After these expertly conducted hearings and the abundance of corroborating testimony, it's pretty much all over and done with with this body of evidence. The President committed impeachable offense. Call it bribery or extortion, or whatever you want, it's the grand impeachable offense the Founders envisioned in their original thinking to protect our Democracy from tyranny. The time now is for the few Republicans left with ANY scrap of integrity, to do the right thing and inform the President that it's time for him to resign.
9
Thank you, Senator Gorton. To current congressional office holders, on both sides of the aisle: please heed the Senator's words.
Partisan concerns should take a back seat to the good of the nation.
7
One small quibble. Impeachment can't, and won't, "undo the results of the 2016 election". Those results are a "fact" and, for good or ill, what's what three years later is a result of it.
Impeachment (or not) simply means that "facts" as in 2019 are now being taken into account.
If that sees the current President no longer in office, then the Vice President takes over.
And when was that VP elected? In 2016 ! There 's change yes - but not undoing.
Circumstances may have altered, but in "fact" those election results still apply.
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@ilma2045 - Good point. Leave it to someone hailing from outside the U.S. to point this out:)
@ilma2045 - Not necessarily. The hearings have revealed that Pence was clearly involved in the corrupt matters at hand and he too should be removed, thereby leaving the speaker of the house to become president.
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@Evangelist For Reality Ridiculous, will NEVER happen.
What an excellent column! Thank you Mr. Gorton.
Yet reading this, reading his quotations taken from Alexander Hamilton's writings, convinces me that Lin Miranda was not wrong in creating a musical about that particular founding father. How prescient! How forward thinking! If we rely on the thoughts, ethics, and morals expressed by Hamilton, Franklin, Jefferson, and their fellows, surely our path is safe. Wandering from it is what will lead to our downfall.
Once again: thanks to two wise individuals, one with us in body and mind, the other a beacon to follow as long as this country exists.
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With respect to the title of this Opinion Piece, not going to happen. They have shown themselves repeatedly to be craven and soulless partisans.
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
That's the question I pose and I'm not even a believer.
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Alas, we have another retired Republican stating the obvious, that Trump is a crook. All the while, Republicans in Congress either actively defend Trump, or they run for the Cloak Room to avoid answering any questions.
There have been whispers that many Republicans would vote to impeach or remove if only there were a secret ballot to avoid accountability. Of course, there will be no secret ballot, so we risk all these closeted principled Republicans publicly casting their vote in opposition to their conscience.
So here's the rub. Surely former Sen. Gorton and others have spoken privately and know at least some of those who would cast a secret "thumbs down" vote on the President. Perhaps it's time to "out" these shy members of Congress.
Sen. Gorton, what's more important, the country or your friendships with your former colleagues? Break this open, tell us who they are, and force them to do the right thing to honor their oath of office. Some will retreat and deny at first, but maybe a few, once dragged out in the open, will stay there and speak the truth. Once the dam breaks, surely others will follow, as there's safety in numbers, and we only need someone to "go first," voluntarily or otherwise.
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The author asks: "Is there an offense serious enough to undo the results of the 2016 election?"
I'm tired of hearing republicans repeating this nonsense that the impeachment is about "reversing the 2016 election". If Trump gets impeached, who becomes president? Mike Pence. And wasn't his name also on the ballot in 2016? Wasn't he elected alongside Trump? Wouldn't we still have a Republican president? So how would an impeachment reverse anything?
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Unfortunately, Mr. Slade Gorton is seemingly a ghost from a bygone era, when there were perhaps a critical mass of Republicans interested in doing the right, constitutional thing. That era is past. Now, the proto-facist Republican Party can only be improved out of existence. Paul Krugman in a recent column outlined all the reasons that Republicans are incentivized to do the wrong thing. Let's stop pretending that moral suasion will be enough. All of us interested in saving our constitutional democracy must be willing to do so by any means necessary.
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By any means necessary? Really? Does that not make us just like them?
There's a lot to say about Trump's power over this crop of Republicans who are making excuses for Trump and distorting reality regarding his Bribe of Z to invesitgate Biden.
Little is mentioned about the Puppet Masters, the big Donors who put up the money for these Republicans to run and stay in office.
I remember in 2016 one such very wealthy Republican was angry that a candidate wouldn't do what he wanted and he said publically that he would not donate any more money unless the candidate (or candidates) did what he requested.
There were Big donors who withheld donations unless the Republicans voted in Trump's Tax Cuts.
The Puppet Master Donors are also in charge. They want to keep their Trump Tax Cuts. Keeping Trump in office means lying and distorting the truth for Republicans.
Did Billionaires pay off Republicans for passing the Trump Tax bill?
"Among the politicians and PACs that benefited directly or indirectly from this flood of largesse were the Republican National Committee; Team Ryan, run by former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.; and the Trump Victory committee, which has ties with the RNC and state Republican committees. Also receiving a large share of the contributions were the Congressional Leadership Fund and Senate Leadership Fund, whose goals are to elect Republicans to Congress."
https://publicintegrity.org/business/taxes/trumps-tax-cuts/did-billionaires-pay-off-republicans-for-passing-the-trump-tax-bill/
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The Republicans aren't about to connect any dots involving Trump and his main henchman Giuliani. They are only interested in making sure in the right wing media the whole thing is perceived as a witch hunt by the Democrats. It may have taken many of them quite awhile but they are all resigned to go down the authoritarian path with Trump because the alternative could be government led by Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders.
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What makes them think they are going to convince Democrats of anything? After al the lies they think Democrats will just believe whatever they say? And Trump has done more to make Warren & Sanders look good than anyone.