In case you missed it, CNN recently dug up video footage(1999) of GOP Senators Mitch McConnell(KY), Lindsey Graham(SC), and Chuck Grassley(IA) explaining their reasons for supporting President Bill Clinton’s impeachment. Listening to the explanations given by Senators McConnell, Graham and Grassley in support of Clinton’s impeachment in 1999 and considering the fact that all of them are now staunch defenders, even abetters of President Trump who is accused of doing far worse, it is hard to avoid the shocking hypocrisy displayed by these three senior U.S. Senators.
Senator Mitch McConnell for example said on February 10, 1999, “The problem is lying under oath and obstructing justice. The subject matter[Monica Lewinsky] is not what is significant here. It is lying under oath and obstructing justice.”
Senator Lindsey Graham said on January 16, 1999, “The point I’m trying to make is you don’t even have to be convicted of a crime to lose your job in this constitutional republic. Impeachment is not about punishment, impeachment is about cleansing the office.”
Senator Chuck Grassley said on January 9, 1999, “We are miraculously transformed from politicians to people who leave their Republican and Democrat labels at the door. We’re there to seek the truth and to find out whether the president is guilty or not guilty, and no stone should be left unturned to make that determination.”
From what we have seen so far, I think it is fair to conclude that Mitch McConnell will never vote to impeach Trump even if evidence was produced proving that Trump obstructed and is still obstructing justice. It is also fair to conclude that Senator Graham will never vote to impeach Trump without a conviction in an effort to “cleanse the office” even if a mountain of evidence was presented showing Trump has defiled/is still defiling the office. As for Senator Grassley, it is likewise fair to conclude that he will never shed his Republican label and vote to impeach Trump even if a determination was made that he was guilty of a crime.
Bottom line, it is not uncommon for politicians from both sides of the aisle to be caught in hypocritical stances. The Trump presidency however has brought political hypocrisy to a whole new alarming level. Simply put, no self-respecting individual who took issue with President Clinton’s lying and obstruction of justice would ever fervently defend Trump, a far worse and serial offender, as Senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley have. It is such sickening hypocrisy that turns a lot of young impressionable people away from politics–a sad state of affairs indeed.
For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out.
You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com
Excellent points made. Thanks for sharing.