OMG, Could Republicans Not Care About Abuse of Power?

I just had a startling thought.  I have always thought that the reason why most Republicans in Congress were dismissive of the Democrat’s push for impeachment was that they just didn’t think there was iron-clad proof of Trump’s abuse of office and obstruction of justice.  No matter how clear it seemed, they just wished away the facts.

But I just thought, what if it isn’t a matter of proof.  What if they don’t feel that any of the actions Trump is accused of, even if proven beyond a doubt, would constitute an abuse of power, an impeachable offense?  What if they felt that even if Trump was using foreign policy for personal political gain, even if there was a quid pro quo, that that would be ok.  As Trump has said, he did nothing wrong.  What if they felt that even if Trump was obstructing the justice process, since he claimed he did nothing wrong, he didn’t have the mental state of obstructing “justice.”

If that’s true, then besides fearing the wrath of Trump and his base, they feel the impeachment process is a sham because they don’t think the actions Trump is accused of rise to the level of an impeachable offense.  If that were true, that would explain why no Republican voted in favor of the public impeachment inquiry resolution in the House, despite satisfying all their demands:  open hearings, the right to subpoena witnesses, and due process for Trump.  Forget about making any comparison to the charges against Clinton; reason here would have no value.

If that is the case, then there is no hope of getting more than a handful of Republicans to vote for impeachment, and other than Romney, no Senator will vote to convict.  It will end up appearing to Trump loyalists, and probably most Republicans, as a partisan effort.  This would be very bad for the country, for our democracy.  Trump has been saying that the Democrats are just trying to undo the results of the 2016 election, to thwart the will of the people, and that is precisely how it will appear to many.

If that’s the case, Nancy Pelosi was right about not wanting to move forward with impeachment.  

It is now really up to the American people.  They must call and write their Republican representatives and say that they are disappointed if not outraged that they wouldn’t even endorse a public and fair inquiry into these serious allegations.  For the good of this country, this cannot remain a partisan matter.