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Brave Sir Kevin, having gelded himself into his hollow speakership, once again must appease the crazies.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday opened an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, working to appease far-right lawmakers who have threatened to oust him if he fails to accede to their demands for deep spending cuts that would force a government shutdown at the end of the month.
Mr. McCarthyās decision to unilaterally announce an impeachment investigation with no formal House vote entwined the Republican investigations into Mr. Biden with the funding fight that is rattling the Capitol. It appeared to be a bid to quell a brewing rebellion among ultraconservative critics who have accused the speaker of not taking a hard enough line on spending, by complying with their demands to more aggressively pursue the president.
McCarthyās unliteral decree marked a stark about-face from the position he took (checks notes) just 11 days ago, when he solemnly promised, āif we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the Peopleās House and not through a declaration by one person.ā
In the past, My Kevin has described this kind of āunilateral decree of the Speakerā as ā[undermining] the voting privileges afforded to each Member and the constituents they represent.ā But that was back in the distant mists of time ā in 2019 ā when McCarthy and Trump were insisting that the House lacked the authority to ācompel the production of documents and testimonyā without a full House vote.
That was then. This is now. and, most important of all, this is what his masterās voice is demanding. Politico is reporting that Trump āhas been weighing in behind the scenes in support of the House GOP push to impeach President Joe Biden, including talking with a member of leadership in the lead up to Tuesdayās vote authorizing a formal impeachment inquiry.ā
The lack of a vote is sort of a tell, no?
It turns out that without any solid evidence to justify the inquiry, McCarthy simply did not have the 218 votes to authorize the impeachment that Trump and his acolytes are demanding.
How do we know? Because Republicans told us so.
**
The Ken Buck standard.
āThe time for impeachment is the time when thereās evidence linking President Biden ā if thereās evidence linking President Biden to a high crime or misdemeanor. That doesnāt exist right now,ā said Colorado conservative representative Ken Buck. āAnd it is really something that we can say, well, in February, weāre going to do this. Itās based on the facts. You go where the facts take you.ā
One moderate GOP lawmaker said they believe there are as many as 30 Republicans who donāt believe thereās enough evidence yet for impeachment, based on informal conversations with colleagues.
Johnson, who chairs the centrist-leaning Main Street Caucus, is one of them.
āThere is a constitutional and legal test that you have to meet with evidence,ā Johnson told CNN. āI have not seen that evidence, but I guess Iām not suggesting it doesnāt exist. I do think the fact that the committees continue to ask for additional documents suggests that they donāt think their evidentiary record is complete yet.ā
āAs of now I don't support [an impeachment inquiry],ā Bacon said. āI think an inquiry should be based on evidence of a crime that points directly to President Biden, or if the President doesn't cooperate by not providing documents.ā
When asked about Greeneās recent comments regarding an impeachment inquiry, Joyce tells Forbes he is ānot seeing facts or evidence at this pointā that would lead to an impeachment inquiry, and he says those calls are āpremature.ā
**
There is neither mystery nor subtlety here. For Trump, impeachment is an existential necessity.
Trump not only needs the impeachment as a weapon of mass distraction, but also as an instrument of moral flattening. If everyone is a crook, no one is a crook. If everyone is impeached, then impeachment is no longer a badge of shame.
His own legal nightmare? Four indictments? Ninety-one felony charges? Whatabout Hunterās laptop?
āLook, if they have the goods, all well and good. But they clearly donātā¦. This was craven. This was cynical. It is pandering. But you understand why they are doing it. I mean, weāre now finding out that Donald Trump talked with, met quietly with House leaders and told them he wanted them to do this because, to speak pure Steve Bannon, the goal here is to flood the zone with shit, to devalue impeachment by making sure that everybody is impeached.ā
Sykes noted that McCarthy was under intense pressure from the more right-wing members of his caucus.
āKevin McCarthy, who engaged in that rather dramatic act of self-gelding, made this promise and now he has to follow through, even if it meansā¦ reversing the position he held 10 days ago when he said that he would have a vote of Congress to begin this inquiry,ā he continued. āWeāre about to go into a very, very messy month. This is going to be Kevin McCarthyās month from Hell. Unfortunately, he appears willing to drag the rest of the country with him.ā
Vladimir Putin could barely contain his excitement Tuesday while discussing Donald Trump, telling a forum in Vladivostok that the criminal cases against the former president are āgoodā for Russia and that the Kremlin took delight in Trumpās claim heād swiftly force an end to Moscowās war against Ukraine.
āAs for the persecution of Trumpā¦ for us, what is happening in these conditions, in my opinion, is good, because it shows the whole rottenness of the American political system, which cannot claim to teach others about democracy,ā Putin said, echoing the former American presidentās own oft-repeated claim that āwhatās happening with Trump is a persecution of a political rival for political motives.ā
Since Republican leaders proposed impeaching Protasiewicz, they have faced a national backlash and an aggressive Democratic state outreach campaign. Historically, this has not stymied their willingness to break norms, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said on Friday that his colleagues might proceed with the threatened impeachment process, at least if Protasiewicz does not ārecuse herself on cases where she has prejudged.ā
But Vos may now be looking for another way out. On Tuesday, he announced an āIowa-style nonpartisan redistrictingā approach that the Assembly might vote on this week. Vos and fellow Republicans have opposed this idea for years. Why the change of heart, and the speed? Vos apparently hopes that quickly passing the bill would remove the gerrymandering case from the courts in the first place. And the Iowa model allows the state legislature to reject the maps created by the nonpartisan commission and substitute its own. And so, the gerrymandered legislature is looking to remain the master of its own gerrymandered domain, having found a new way to cut a now-unfriendly court out of the process. Advocates for fairer maps, including Gov. Evers, swiftly rejected the Vos proposal, which indicates both how little trust there is and that the showdown over the maps will not be over anytime soon.
Canāt you just feel it? Amid all the justified concern about the erosion of the rule of law, the folks who broke the law as part of Trumpās scheme to steal an election are evidently being held to account. Soon, the rule of law may even catch up with Trump himself.
As of last Wednesday, according to the Department of Justiceās weekly tally, 623 federal defendants have been convicted of and sentenced for crimes related to January 6th; 378 of these have included periods of incarceration. In all, the government says, 1,146 people have been arrested and charged for their actions that day.
These metrics are growing all the time.
3. New Mexico Govās Gun Order Attacked Even by Fellow Dems
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), one of Capitol Hillās most ardent supporters of stricter gun laws, told me heās skeptical of the legality of Lujan Grishamās order.
I donāt know that itās gonna pass constitutional muster but her order doesnāt exist in a vacuum. She has all these sheriffs running around New Mexico refusing to enforce state laws. Iām still trying to figure out the legality of her order, but Iāve had smart people tell me that it may not ultimately measure up constitutionally. But sheās in a really awful position because sheās got the majority of counties in New Mexico that are refusing to enforce laws. So New Mexicoās just a bit of a mess when it comes to gun laws.
Even some prominent activists who support stricter gun laws have condemned Lujan Grishamās order as unconstitutional. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.)postedon X (formerly Twitter):
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The Bulwark is home to Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller, Bill Kristol, JVL, Sam Stein, and more. We are the largest pro-democracy bundle on Substack for news and analysis on politics and cultureāsupported by a community built on good-faith.
Donāt look now, but here it comes, around the corner ā¦ Revenge Impeachment. (Spite Impeachment, if you prefer.) Yet again the GOP be GOPing, increasingly desperate to find both relevance and acceptance as it chooses to pursue the political nuclear option. Rather obviously it is a punishment seeking a problem. Looking past the headlines, we need to see it for what it really is: a long-term GOP āLook, squirrel!ā moment on steroids, seeking to deflect attention away from Trumpās (alleged) criminal activities, his bizarre and unprofessional behavior entering a lengthy electoral campaign, and their lack of a coherent plan for America other than to own and even to destroy the libs. This has his fingerprints all over it. He should take ownership of it.
That said, my unsolicited advice to the Democrats is: donāt take the bait. Yes, they must deny the accusations. It comes with the territory. But, lacking specific evidence of wrongdoing on Joe Bidenās part and aware that ultimately only Hunter Biden is legally accountable for Hunter Bidenās activities, they do not have to stay on the defensive when there is nothing to defend. Donāt let the GOP change the subject and seize the messaging high ground. Hit up the donors, crank up the publicity machine, and call the GOP out on its lack of a plan for the future. Ask them what it is and emphasize the empty echo beyond mere platitudes that we get in response. And above all give us a list of accomplishments, things that the Biden Administration has done for the American people to make their lives better since Trump left office for his current full-time private sector job as a fomenter of grievance and discord. Reinforce it. Keep it in the eyes and ears of the people. And as time and opportunity allow make the Republicans defend the indefensible by asking them the simplest but most effective question in the arsenal: do you really want to go back to the daily drama and needless divisiveness that was four miserable years of Trump, ratcheted up into a revenge tour against any and all perceived opponents?
The middle ground voters in swing states who stand to decide the election should be receptive to a positive message after so many years of Trumpās and the GOPās exhausting, self-serving negativity. Make them own that by emphasizing a better option. If the GOP insists on being the rain, make sure that voters know that you are the parade.
Donāt look now, but here it comes, around the corner ā¦ Revenge Impeachment. (Spite Impeachment, if you prefer.) Yet again the GOP be GOPing, increasingly desperate to find both relevance and acceptance as it chooses to pursue the political nuclear option. Rather obviously it is a punishment seeking a problem. Looking past the headlines, we need to see it for what it really is: a long-term GOP āLook, squirrel!ā moment on steroids, seeking to deflect attention away from Trumpās (alleged) criminal activities, his bizarre and unprofessional behavior entering a lengthy electoral campaign, and their lack of a coherent plan for America other than to own and even to destroy the libs. This has his fingerprints all over it. He should take ownership of it.
That said, my unsolicited advice to the Democrats is: donāt take the bait. Yes, they must deny the accusations. It comes with the territory. But, lacking specific evidence of wrongdoing on Joe Bidenās part and aware that ultimately only Hunter Biden is legally accountable for Hunter Bidenās activities, they do not have to stay on the defensive when there is nothing to defend. Donāt let the GOP change the subject and seize the messaging high ground. Hit up the donors, crank up the publicity machine, and call the GOP out on its lack of a plan for the future. Ask them what it is and emphasize the empty echo beyond mere platitudes that we get in response. And above all give us a list of accomplishments, things that the Biden Administration has done for the American people to make their lives better since Trump left office for his current full-time private sector job as a fomenter of grievance and discord. Reinforce it. Keep it in the eyes and ears of the people. And as time and opportunity allow make the Republicans defend the indefensible by asking them the simplest but most effective question in the arsenal: do you really want to go back to the daily drama and needless divisiveness that was four miserable years of Trump, ratcheted up into a revenge tour against any and all perceived opponents?
The middle ground voters in swing states who stand to decide the election should be receptive to a positive message after so many years of Trumpās and the GOPās exhausting, self-serving negativity. Make them own that by emphasizing a better option. If the GOP insists on being the rain, make sure that voters know that you are the parade.
The GOP has devolved into a group of middle school students in detention.