With Democrats holding a vote to impeach President Trump on Wednesday, the president’s odds of surviving unscathed from another attempt to unseat him appear to have gotten slimmer due to reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is “pleased” with the impeachment motions and is even willing to convict, seeing this as an opportunity to purge the Republican Party of Donald Trump for good.
Sources claiming to be associates of McConnell told The New York Times that he believes the president committed impeachable offenses by calling on his supporters to hold an election fraud-related rally in Washington, D.C.
The Senate majority leader reportedly wants to see the article of impeachment that the House is set to approve and wants to hear the arguments in the Senate.
Curiously, McConnell has said he will not reconvene the Senate early for an impeachment trial, contrary to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)’s desire that his counterpart use emergency powers to swiftly hold a trial and vote on whether to convict Trump and remove him from office.
he Senate determined that removal from office was connected to conviction (requiring a two-thirds majority), but disqualification from future office was a discretionary ruling not connected to conviction and removal. While some argue about the constitutionality of these rulings, there is little doubt a Democrat-controlled Senate would follow this precedent
According to Fox News, McConnell is “done” and “furious with President Trump.” And Axios reports there’s a 50-50 chance the majority leader will vote to convict
According to a survey by John McLaughlin of McLaughlin & Associates, “60 percent of battleground voters view the Democrats’ second impeachment effort as a waste of time. Moreover, 80 percent of Trump voters and 76 percent of Republicans indicated that they are less likely to vote for a member of Congress who votes in favor of impeaching Trump.”
Considering Republican voter dissatisfaction with the party’s leadership in Congress and in many state positions, the future of the GOP is uncertain. This could be the beginning of the end for the party of Lincoln. Many of President Trump’s supporters are hoping he will begin a third party once out of office.
Whatever happens, American voters, including the Kentucky Republicans who helped McConnell sail to an easy reelection, will have to improve their ability to discern between patriots and saboteurs.
