A Republican on impeachment: Mitch McConnell ‘dishonors the office he holds.’
Contempt prior to investigation continues as the Republican strategy for the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Before one witness testified, Senator McConnell (R-KY) acquitted the President of any wrongdoing. A McConnell campaign ad hit the airwaves soon after a formal impeachment inquiry was announced by Speaker Pelosi, declaring impeachment will fail with him as majority leader. He will “take his cues” on how to manage the Senate trial from the White House, completely abdicating his duties to uphold the Constitution as a member of the Senate. Rewind back to 1998, when another president faced impeachment. The same Senator McConnell urged his colleagues to “pursue the search for truth” rather than “dodge, weave and evade”. That Senator McConnell had yet to become the grim reaper of democratic principles.
For those of us who do not depend upon Fox pundits to form opinions but rather investigate, challenge and review the facts for ourselves, the contempt the GOP staged during revelations of the President’s bad acts would be comical if it were not for the damage they inflicted upon the Republican Party, our constitution and country.
As evidence mounts of the President’s duplicity, GOP clowns scoff, distract and redirect attention to ridiculous, debunked conspiracy theories. They shamelessly slander and discredit people who have dedicated their lives to public service in the military and diplomatic corps. Contrary to this political theater, the facts remain steadfast. The President of the United States attempted to extort political favor from a foreign government to discredit a potential opponent in the 2020 presidential election. This shakedown and coercion were sanctioned by key figures in his Administration who were later directed by the chief executive to cover-up the scheme by refusing to participate in congressional oversight. Lawful subpoenas were dodged, weaved and evaded and Senator McConnell remained silent. The Vice President and Secretary of State were aware of the President’s illegal acts and remained silent. Government employees who publicly demonstrated their patriotism were threatened, discredited, insulted and fired for exposing the President’s plot.
I recently wrote Senator McConnell hoping for insight into how we could be so far apart on this matter. I was disappointed the answer to my inquiry was dodgy and patronizing. As a young woman I worked to help him get elected to his first term in the Senate. We went to Washington the same year where I was a legislative assistant in the House of Representatives during his first eight years in office. I frequently collaborated with him and/or his staff and admired him for his legislative savvy. I shared his conservative values and respected the work he did in the Senate and for the Republican Party.
The now senior Senator from Kentucky has willfully bound himself to the President’s misconduct, underwriting the notion that this President has no accountability for his illegal, unethical and dangerous actions. Does Senator McConnell fear acknowledgment of the truth regarding the President’s actions will disappoint the President’s base and endanger his own re-election, or like others suggest, has he been in the Senate too long and forgotten his oath to uphold and defend the Constitution? Either scenario dishonors the office he holds and the people he represents. A great Kentuckian, Henry Clay, once wrote “Never let selfish views or interests predominate over the duties of patriotism”. Mitch McConnell would do well to surrender the grim reaper persona and observe allegiance to his country rather than to his party.
Mary Woodward is a Republican who worked in the Legislative and Executive Branches of Government in Washington, DC for 32 years. She is now retired and living in Lexington.