Opinion: The GOP’s carnival of hypocrisy during the Trump impeachment

In their speeches in the House of Representatives during the impeachment debate, 197 opponents of the measure staged a carnival of hypocrisy, a spectacle in which they tried to convince their colleagues, the country, and perhaps themselves that after months of trying to overturn the results of legitimate democratic elections, they suddenly had the goal of uniting and healing the nation.

Maybe they think they can convince us that nothing is more important now than getting their act together because they spent so much time spreading another lie that Trump won in November.

At a time when the presidency of Assets is running out and weakening, what else is a lie?

The Democrats described the events of the sixth year. January. MP Jamie Raskin noted the terrifying fact that the Trump Mafia may have been trying to get Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to stage their coup, but that everyone in the room could be dead right now.

Let it go, said Assemblyman Eric Swalwell, our president has incited our citizens to attack our Capitol.

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Perhaps the mind concentrates when faced with a murderous mob. House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who tried to strike a statesmanlike tone in the debate, deserves some praise despite his vote against impeachment. At least he acknowledged that Trump was responsible for Wednesday’s attack on Congress and tried to prevent the spread of some of Trumpistan’s ridiculous lies. The riot was not caused by Antifa, he said.

What’s important is that McCarthy is finally acknowledging that Joe Biden won the election. But imagine: It took him over two months to get here. He doesn’t have a pass. He can’t free himself after months of feeding and spreading a big biting lie about the election.

McCarthy was almost poetic about national unity. He spoke of the call of our best angels and condemned the shameful events. What we saw last week was not American. He denied the charge because, united, we can guarantee peace, strength and prosperity…. divided, we will fail.

Reel Mind. This is the same McCarthy who voted against certifying the election results after the coup attempt. With his voice he supported their goals. McCarthy said we resolve our differences at the ballot box after two months of supporting an attempted election theft.

This is the same McCarthy who told Fox News after Trump’s defeat in the election that we can’t let this happen, let’s unite and stop it.

Now he wants unity, healing, reduction of fever. And he’s not the only one who has discovered his inner compromise.

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Pick any name from the 147 Republicans who voted to steal the election from the American people, and you’ll probably find someone saying impeachment is too confrontational. People like Debbie Lesko, who voted against the certification, now think that just a week before Mr. Trump leaves office and at a time when our country needs unity, Democrats are seeking impeachment.

Similarly, Assemblyman Ted Budd, another member who voted against confirming Biden’s election, tweeted. When Democrats say they want unity, that’s no way to show it.

What about Jim Jordan, the temperamental Trump defender whose scorched earth policies got him into the presidency. Jordan complains that Democrats are trying to bypass the president. He tried to cancel Biden’s presidency before it started.

It doesn’t unite the country, Jordan said, perhaps laughing inwardly at the statement that the indictment doesn’t help the nation deal with the horrific events of last week, which we all condemn.

All of the Republicans who have repeatedly lied and continually spread dangerous lies about the election have allowed Trump, who has not stood up to him until now – and even now – to participate in the horrific events that we all condemn.

If Republicans want healing and reconciliation, maybe it has something to do with the threats they’re getting in what is the closest thing to the fascist tactics we’ve seen in this abandoned presidency. Republican Representative Peter Meyer wrote in the Detroit News that one of his deeply shocked colleagues admitted after last week’s uproar that voting to confirm Biden’s victory was a constitutional duty, but instead voted to overturn the election result for fear of endangering family members.

In the end, ten brave Republicans broke with the hypocrites and voted for Trump.

As things stand, it’s not just Trump Republicans who are worried about the deep and explosive divisions in the country. It’s not just Republicans who want healing and unity. Most Americans are frustrated and afraid of the precipices and dangers that Trump has brought.

The right way to heal those divisions, the right way to unite the country, is to unite and reject the toxic presidency of Donald Trump. Is there a better way to get them than through an indictment and conviction? Even if he stays in office for the full four years, Americans will officially declare his presidency a grave national wrong and will tell future generations – and even current generations – that Trump’s values and tactics are abhorrent to this nation.

It is the way of unity. The claims we hear that the charge is bad for healing are false. It’s a way to avoid accountability, protect the president, sweep the dirt under the rug. At a time like this, when the country needs to be united, America needs courage, not hypocrisy, from its leaders.

 

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