Trump Impeachment Deepens GOP Divide

[question everything]

WASHINGTON—The Capitol riot and the impeachment of President Trump have divided the GOP from the top down, with the party’s two congressional leaders, state party officials and longtime donors taking different stances on punishing the president as his term ends.

In the Senate, which must try Mr. Trump after the House’s impeachment vote Wednesday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has shown a greater impatience with Mr. Trump than his House counterparts have. Mr. McConnell, who had warned against the president’s drive to challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, on Wednesday declined to rule out convicting Mr. Trump. “I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate,” Mr. McConnell (R., Ky.) wrote in a message to his colleagues. Rank-and-file senators will start picking sides as early as next week, when the process of setting up a trial begins.

House Republicans largely worked to shield Mr. Trump from formal charges of inciting an insurrection at the Capitol, with Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California joining 196 Republicans in voting against impeachment, as 10 Republicans crossed the aisle to join Democrats in favor. “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack by mob rioters,” Mr. McCarthy said on the House floor Wednesday. But he said that voting for impeachment "would further divide this nation, a vote to impeach will further fan the flames, the partisan division.”

Intraparty divisions are showing up in frays over whether to impeach Mr. Trump and how to defend him; over whether Republicans are disqualified from leadership roles if they back impeachment; and even over whether to abide by new regulations to go through magnetometers before entering the House chamber, a restriction imposed to ensure those entering aren’t carrying guns or other prohibited items.

(snip)

Still, some Republicans are warning that any drive to push Mr. Trump out of the party could have consequences. “To my Republican colleagues who legitimize this process, you are doing great damage not only to the country, the future of the presidency, but also to the party,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said in a statement on Wednesday. “The millions who have supported President Trump and his agenda should not be demonized because of the despicable actions of a seditious mob.”

(snip)

Republicans who stick with Mr. Trump could face financial consequences, as some donors steer clear of supporting them. That could affect Mr. McCarthy, whose rise in leadership has been fueled by both his allegiance to Mr. Trump and his fundraising prowess. It could also impact Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who chairs the Senate Republican campaign arm and who objected to the certification of Mr. Biden’s election.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-impeachment-deepens-gop-divide-11610581328 (subscription)

[badboy67]

1. GOP don't care bout nothing but themselves.

[NCjack]

2. Repukes on a rip -- ripping themselves apart. Trump kills everything

he touches. Sweet!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. They sure are

I think there will develop three parties out of the ruins of the RepubliCon party:

1) Rational Conservatives, like the Lincoln Project, who are willing to work with Democrats.

2) Rotting Elephant Carcass Party: clever but corrupt RWs like McConnell, Pence, and Collins clinging to the remnants of the Greed Over People party.

3) MAGA Q God Emperor of the US party with Gym "Medal of Freedom" Jordan and Graham and a horde of similar miscreants.

What’s extremely disappointing and disgusting is that President chose
not to fight. He did nothing except mouth some inconsequential
blather. He never fought back. He never drew blood. He capitulated
He deserted us
64 posted on 1/13/2021, by bert

"Are you a dumbass or just a troll?"
No, but you are obviously both a complete fool and a total jerk. As I
clearly documented, this redpill link is journalistic garbage, the
same substance your brain is now turning into.
37 posted on 1/13/2021, by CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC

[czarjak]

3. "You can't investigate my crimes"...

Still fake news.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Steve Schmidt is right, starve the Republican Beast

We are all in this fight. Our spending habits can impact corporate BOD's and CEO policies and political giving.

We must make our voices clearly heard.

!5 years ago it was postulated this would all happen through shareholder votes, but the reality is it takes big money to even get an issue registered for an annual vote, and the big mutual and hedge funds don't poll shareholders proportionally, they just vote to ensure more profits are wrung from their investments. So greed fuels greed.

We're at a different point now.

How bad are things at Home Depot? I don't know, but when I was there a few weeks back, I paused to write down a few features of some plywood quarters. 20 seconds later I was accosted by an employee, "Can we help you find something?" It's what managers are told to instruct their employees when sales are soft. So we're having an impact.

[NNadir]

6. Lindsay Graham is a a race baiting, xenophobic religious bigot.

He despises the United States and is entirely willing to sell it down the river for a few pieces of silver and God knows what else.

Of course he worships Trump. He is Trump and nothing more, and serves the Trump mob as capo.