Six GOP myths about impeachment were exploded as the House of Representatives debated the impeachment of President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
In her latest column, conservative Washington Post writer Jennifer Rubin reminded readers that Republicans once insisted that impeachment would be good news for Trump.
Trump himself, she noted, seemed terrified by impeachment.
"That does not sound like impeachment is part of his grand plan any more that his screed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will rank up there with the Federalist Papers. That is one myth dispelled: Trump does not mind being impeached, nor does he think it will harm him in 2020," she explained.
"Here’s another myth: The Republicans have a defense for Trump," she noted. "We have heard screaming, declarations without facts (He did nothing wrong!) and accusations that Democrats have been out to get him from the start (the same could have been said about Richard Nixon’s enemies). These are not defenses. When they get around to the facts, they regurgitate lies and misstatements that have gained currency on Fox News."
Rubin noted five different Trump defenses that have appeared on Fox News.
"If Republicans had facts, they would not deploy easily debunked lies. If senior aides could exonerate him, they would be freed to testify," she noted.
"The third myth we have seen exploded is that impeachment was going to pry loose a bunch of nervous moderate Democrats, creating a problem for Pelosi and Democratic leadership," she continued. "The fourth myth is that there are not enough facts to impeach."
"The fifth myth is that this will incite Trump’s base and demoralize Democrats," Rubin explained. "The final myth blown to smithereens Wednesday is the notion that there are Republicans of goodwill in the House ready to call out Trump’s conduct as wrong and unacceptable but arguing that it does not quite amount to an impeachable offense. We have not heard that so far on impeachment day."
"To be a Trump Republican is to dump all moral reasoning and intellectual honesty. A party that supports the author of the raving lunacy displayed in Trump’s Tuesday letter to Pelosi and that parrots provably false statements is not one deserving of respect nor certainly one to be trusted with power," she added.
