Don’t be confused by Romney jumping ship – impeachment is about sticking to party lines
By Zachary Leeman, author of the novel Nigh and journalist who covers art and culture.
Impeachment supporters earned two more allies in Senators Mitt Romney and Doug Jones, but this process is about sticking to partisan camps when it comes to Donald Trump, not looking for truth.
Romney is the latest conservative hero to the left as he has announced he will vote to impeach the president on one of the two counts against him, abuse of power. Trump has been accused of attempting quid pro quo with Ukraine by withholding federal aid in exchange for an investigation into Joe Biden.
After an “unbiased look at the evidence,” Romney says he has no choice but to follow his “conscience.”
Since Romney will almost certainly be the only Republican voting not to acquit the president of the charges, the left has celebrated the man for supposedly crossing party lines.
Mitt Romney robs President Trump of being able to say his impeachment was entirely partisan
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) February 5, 2020
It is hard to do the right thing – and even to keep sight of what the right thing is — when your system, group, and career incentives push you towards doing the wrong thing.Mitt Romney – and Justin Amash – deserve a lot of respect for doing the right thing when it was hard.
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) February 5, 2020
Saying Romney has done something brave or unpredictable misses the entire point of this impeachment trial.
Romney has never been a fan of the president and he’s publicly criticized him on multiple occasions. The once presidential candidate may have an ‘R’ next to his name, but words like Republican and Democrat stopped meaning anything right around the time Hillary Clinton turned out to be more of a warmonger than Trump.
Romney made the strategic decision. He’s lost allies on the right and is on the bad side of the president, so he places himself with the anti-Trump camp, a more natural fit for conservatives who don’t get along with the president and are looking for a home (here’s to you, Scaramucci).
This impeachment trial is still completely binary, the parties have just changed. In a trial that has included no first-hand witnesses of anything and was kicked off by a whistleblower complaint that contained no direct knowledge of a crime, this impeachment is about whether you’re in the Trump camp or not. And there’s no halfway in. You’re in, or you’re out. This is how divisive American politics have become.
Just look at Alabama Senator Doug Jones. Jones, a registered Democrat, announced on Wednesday that he too would vote to impeach Trump. Despite being a Democrat, Jones’ vote came as a bit of a surprise considering the state he represents. The reactions were predictable. Leftists celebrated his supposed bravery, while conservatives labeled it career suicide.
Doug Jones confirmed he’s gong to vote to convict President @realDonaldTrump on both articles of impeachment. (Which means he is voting for early retirement.) Let’s register new Republican voters in Alabama & flip his seat from 🔵🔜🔴.
— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) February 5, 2020
BREAKING: Doug Jones announces his Senate career is over with his next vote.
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) February 5, 2020
It doesn’t matter that Jones is a Democrat and Romney is a Republican. What matters to the left is they belong to the anti-Trump camp and what matters to the right is they don’t belong to them.
This impeachment isn’t about facts and it isn’t about abuse of power or abuse of Congress or whatever else Adam Schiff wants to try sell us on. This is the hammer through the the middle of DC forcing people to decide once and for all which side they are going to be on in the coming months.
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