The play’s the thing
MAGA House Republicans on Tuesday peformed “The Impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Act 2.”
You wonder why Republicans get nothing done? So does Chip Roy.
“One thing: I want my Republican colleagues to give me one thing—one—that I can go campaign on and say we did. One!” Texas Rep. Chip Roy thundered on the floor of the House in November.
Roy got no takers. They were too busy performing for the Fox News audience and Donald Trump. The play’s the thing, they thought, wherein we’ll win approval from the MAGA king.
“What’s especially striking about Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment is how little effort Republicans are investing in keeping up appearances,” Maddowblog observes:
It’s been more than a month since House Republicans made history by impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. His GOP detractors couldn’t find any evidence of him committing high crimes, but they nevertheless made Mayorkas the first sitting cabinet secretary in American history to impeached.
And then, nothing happened. The idea that this was an urgent matter of great national importance was quickly contradicted by the fact that Republicans didn’t do anything with the articles of impeachment for weeks.
Ah, but wait. They did. For Donald Trump’s trial in Manhattan to begin. They delivered the impeachment articles to the Senate on Tuesday. And who did they select for that solemn duty?
“The group of GOP impeachment managers included some of the party’s most right-wing extremists, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, and Andy Biggs of Arizona,” writes Steve Benen:
These aren’t the kind of managers party officials would choose to make a credible case to the Senate; these are the kind of managers party officials would choose as part of a partisan, election-year stunt.
And that’s because this entire process is clearly a partisan, election-year stunt.
Evidence? Pishposh. Unserious impeachment managers? Step outside and we’ll show you serious.
The party that won’t raise the minumum wage or support Ukraine against the Russians won’t give their voters bread but will give them a circus in hopes that somehow it will either a) fuel their base’s simmering anger, and/or b) distract attention from Donald Trump’s legal peril.
“We’ve taken impeachment, and we’ve made it a social media issue as opposed to a constitutional concept,” former Colorado Rep. Ken Buck declared before resigning in disgust last month.
Benen adds:
GOP officials are barely even trying to prove him wrong. Republicans might as well be wearing t-shirts that read, “Yep, we’re engaged in a partisan, election-year stunt.”
NBC News’ report added, “It’s expected that Senate Democrats, who control the chamber, will band together and vote to dismiss or table the issue, then move on to other business, including the chamber’s need to renew a critical spy tool before it expires Friday. None of the Senate’s 51 Democrats have said they support the Mayorkas impeachment, and even a handful of GOP senators have said the impeachment is meritless.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will swear in senators as jurors in five hours. Watch this space.
The Lincoln Project set “The Procession of the Impeachment Managers” to appropriate music.
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