8 Reasons Why Republicans Want to Rush Impeachment

And why Democrats are slow-walking the process

Republicans are furious that they got what they asked for. (Photo: The Onion)

Republicans are furious that they got what they — ostensibly — asked for last week. Republicans made vociferous demands for “transparency” and a vote on impeachment proceedings, and in a move generally considered to be rash, ill-advised, and a blatant attempt at grand-standing, a group of Republicans even stormed a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) during a committee hearing.

In a move to calm tempers, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi presented a formal resolution that authorizes the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Judiciary Committee, and other relevant committees to hold open hearings. The 8-page document also grants the senior Minority member of each committee privileges to call witnesses, request documents and issue subpoenas.

However, what the document actually says is: we will continue to hold committee-only hearings. They may or may not be public. You can watch, but you can’t participate. It is not a formal launch of impeachment.

This is not what Republicans were really hoping for when they chanted that they want transparency, and this cautious step toward the transparency they publicly demanded has only infuriated them further.

Republicans storming a committee hearing — a stunt considered by many to be a reckless and irresponsible breach of national security. Half the stormers were free to attend committee hearings and ask questions.

Republicans Threatened By Slow Pace

Most people think Republicans want to slow walk and delay the impeachment process, and likewise, people assume that Democrats would like to pick up the pace and get on with it.

But when we look at the actions, rather than the words of the principal players, the opposite appears to be true. Democrats have slowly and cautiously been collecting testimony and documents. Witness statements and major developments have been released to the press, but they refuse to be rushed, and there hasn’t been a whole lot of pontificating, leaking or general stirring of the pot.

Republicans, on the other hand, are now fussing over process, making loud demands, and claiming that Democrats are breaking with precedent. They’re extremely vague on details (such as which precedents and rules they are referring to), they rely almost entirely on emotional rhetoric, and their anger is palpable.

Why? Because a long, slow barbecue will be deadly for the GOP 2020 campaigns.

Republicans want a fast, hot grill — they want to get this over with quickly — so naturally they’re more upset than ever that Pelosi is not complying with their fervent demands.

Here’s why:

1. They want impeachment to proceed now, before they lose Republican House and Senate support for Trump.
2. They hope a rushed process will force the committees to make legal mistakes.
3. If an impeachment vote is taken and rejected by the Senate by late winter or spring, they’ll have the rest of spring, summer, and early fall to burnish GOP contenders for election and ridicule Democrats.
4. If impeachment stretches into late spring/early summer, they will hemorrhage support and be forced to Hail Mary before voting season.
5. They want impeachment to happen during the early winter holidays, when viewers are distracted by media holiday blitzes, NFL football, and personal demands on time. The last thing they want is for impeachment to launch in the doldrums of January-February, where it might become America’s top-rated reality TV show.
6. Thanksgiving week is the deadline for another spending bill. Earlier this fall, Trump signed a stop-gap bill, punting his standoff over border wall funding until November 21st. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that he will initiate another government shutdown — his fourth in one term, which will be four of a total of 22 in the history of our government. He also has, by far, the longest shutdown on record. If impeachment formally begins at the same time as the government shutdown, Republicans can deflect the blame onto Democrats. But if Pelosi cautiously slow-walks the hearings, Republicans will still try to deflect, but with less impact, and more likelihood that Trump’s disgraceful record on shutdowns will be emphasized in the news.
7. Another threat-slash-opportunity for the Republicans is that, according to long-standing House Rules of Procedure, once articles of impeachment are presented to the floor, they are considered “principled”. Which in laymen terms means impeachment takes priority over all other House business. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, infamous for his hard-rock constipation on bringing bipartisan bills to the floor, will have nothing to say and no way to stop the juggernaut of impeachment.
8. Finally: a slow, careful impeachment process may threaten a few of them personally. Threads will be meticulously untangled and followed to their origins. Even though only a few people may be judged complicit, anyone who vocally supported them or accepted donations and endorsements will be toxic. The personal, financial, and emotional investment in this president has been foolishly intense and extravagant. Many Republicans have a lot to lose.

So, Republicans still aren’t happy. But eh, maybe they should have been little more transparent about what they were actually hoping for.