'I've Got Other Things to Do': GOP Leaders Admit They'll Ignore Public Impeachment Hearings

[guillaumeb]

From the article:

According to The Hill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he won’t be paying attention to the incriminating testimony from key Trump administration officials.
The report notes that “McConnell is one of several Republican senators who said Tuesday that they don’t plan to watch the House impeachment proceedings when they are televised this week.”

To read more:

https://www.politicususa.com/2019/11/12/other-things-to-do-gop-admit-they-will-ignore-impeachment-hearings.html

The GOP controlled Senate has already indicated that they plan to do nothing about Trump.

[dalton99a]

1. They don't give a shit about this country.

[guillaumeb]

2. Many do not. Power is their goal. eom

[beachbumbob]

3. be real, no reason to watch them....not even to the articles of impeachment phase which may happen

in another committee. Then McConnell will stonewall a trial and do the Merrick Garland song and dance. I say, I'll take that and make 2020 al about trump not being tried by the Senate

[guillaumeb]

8. Agreed. My view is to allow these House hearings to proceed for a few weeks.

A steady diet of impeachable offenses for the voters.

And then, attack the GOP Senators who have already declared that they will not even look at the evidence.

[C_U_L8R]

4. At their peril.

Ignorance is not a very effective strategy.

[guillaumeb]

11. We must hope that many Americans will watch the hearings.

And not allow FOX to do the thinking for them.

[hlthe2b]

5. So they SAY... I don't believe for a minute they will not be watching at least excerpts.

Given the media is going to be covering it nonstop, they have no choice but to see what their constituents may be seeing.

[gratuitous]

14. Oh, they'll be glued to the proceedings

You're right. But they won't admit it publicly. There's no upside to discussing any of this with the media, because as soon as one of these shitweasels offers an opinion on the events of the day, they open themselves up to being asked all kinds of inconvenient questions. So they're all in the mode of fingers firmly in their ears, eyes squinched tightly shut, saying "Blah-de-blah-de-blah."

I don't think it's a very good strategy, because you have to figure that sooner or later a trusted constituent is going to call them out in their home district, and "I've got other things to do" isn't going to play there. Especially when there's that stack of bills passed by the House sitting on Mitch McConnell's desk.

[guillaumeb]

9. Graham already announced that he will not even look at the evidence.

Which should disqualify him from serving as a juror.

[bdamomma]

13. He should be

disbarred

[msongs]

7. maybe the jury should not watch. wait for the trial nt

[guillaumeb]

10. And ignore the evidence then as well? eom

[Iliyah]

15. We know the GOPs are liars . . .

They are watching. Also, it's there duty.

[guillaumeb]

17. True, there is the "they are liars" factor.

Imagine taking Trump's blood pressure after the hearing today.

[bdamomma]

16. They got other

things to do??????? Like screwing the country and Americans.

Ha, go ahead you will be voted OUT!!!!!

[guillaumeb]

18. And collecting their contributions from their owners. eom

[bdamomma]

21. What vile

SOB'ers. McConnell you will be caught. Greedy bastards. They do not care about America or Americans. McConnell has had bills on his desl and has done NOTHING. Even Kentuckians are not getting anything to help their daily lives.

[fierywoman]

19. Isn't that Melania's line?

[guillaumeb]

20. Nice! eom

[Karadeniz]

22. They'll be the jury. Would a lawyer choose people who don't listen to evidence to be on

his jury? Real respect for the law!

[guillaumeb]

24. And many of them, Grahan included, are actual lawyers.

The GOP respects power and money.

[Raftergirl]

23. He's lying.

They were all watching and when otherwise occupied had their staff watching.

[guillaumeb]

25. Welcome to DU.

And if they did watch, they saw the evidence that millions of Americans also saw.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

26. They're watching - count on it. They're just claiming they aren't

because they want to pretend, for their base, that the hearings aren't important. They are watching every single minute.

[guillaumeb]

27. And imagine being able to speak openly with them.

For all of the table pounding, and diversion, and repetition of idiotic conspiracy theories, they have nothing. Any reasonable observer cannot avoid the facts as laid out in the testimony thus far.

[crickets]

34. Agreed. They are outwardly modeling the behavior they want from the base.

And for a lot of people concerned with conformity, it unfortunately may work. For a while. Signal to noise ratio as time goes on may change things, though.

[Generic Other]

28. It is hard work for McConnell to obstruct everyday

to sit in his office reading the funny papers, drinking coffee and eating donuts. Long lunches, no policy meetings, no budget meetings...an occasional day rubber stamping unqualified judges.

Hard work.

[guillaumeb]

30. You left some of the most important things out.

Collecting money from donors,

collecting money from Russia via the NRA,

and helping his wife and her business interests.

[Generic Other]

32. Silly me

Counting ill-gotten gains does take some time.

[Garrett78]

29. It's already been scripted.

House Republicans: lie, obfuscate, vote no

Senate Republicans: express no interest in "sham," hold brief trial, acquit

This is really no different than WWF or a movie.

[guillaumeb]

31. What has not been scripted is voter reaction.

Election results in 2018 and 2019, so far, show that voter reaction.

[Garrett78]

33. For sure. Impeachment is important and necessary.

But we can be pretty damn sure how the process will unfold.

Still, we must hope Trump is damaged enough that we can overcome inevitable election fraud next November.

[crickets]

35. +1

[Grammy23]

36. THEY may not watch the hearings. At least not at first.

But you know damn well they have staffers glued to the tv, taking notes and who will prepare summaries for them. Depending on how things go, they’ll eventually be forced to watch. Let’s see how long it takes them to cave and watch for themselves to see how things go down.

[guillaumeb]

37. Even more important, in my view, is that voters watch.

And if the voters watch in big enough numbers, the results could well sweep the GOP from power in 2020.