Republicans are fine with selling out the country
by digby
New polling today. Per Ron Brownstein on twitter:
Trump's highest vote share vs any Democrat in either the new Fox or NBC/WSJ polls is 42%. In both polls, + ABC/WP earlier this week, 49% support the extraordinary step of removing him from office. R Senate can prevent impeachment, sure; can Trump win back voters who want him out?
Many #impeachment details in @FoxNews poll should trouble WH. 49% now say impeach & remove. But including those who say impeach but don't remove, 53% want him impeached (just 41% don't). 1/3 of those who now oppose removal say new info could change their mind. (more)
Nearly 2/3 say it's inappropriate to ask a foreign leader to investigate a rival. Asked what should happen next if House impeaches 42% say Senate should remove + 9% say he should resign. That's a combined majority that says: go. Just 43% say leave it to voters in 2020 to decide.
Apparently, a large number of our fellow Americans believe that the president using the power of the US government to extort a foreign leader to smear his political opponent isn't a big deal while the children of political leaders should not have business in foreign countries. (I guess nobody told them about Don Jr, Eric and Ivanka's foreign business ties.)
In addition, over half of Republicans (53 percent) say it is generally okay for the president to ask foreign leaders for help in going after his rivals, while slightly more (55 percent) think it is inappropriate for the children of political leaders to have business dealings in other countries.
I would bet that nearly every last one of those people were screeching like harpies about Bill Clinton and the "rule 'o law" back in 1998.
They are hopeless and so are the Republicans leaders who know very well that Trump is an imbecile and a criminal. One has to wonder if this might be true:
“As long as Republican leaders remain united behind the president, it’s unlikely his overall support will drop much below 40 percent,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democratic counterpart Chris Anderson. “One major difference between the Nixon and Clinton impeachment proceedings is the behavior of partisan elites. Basically, it’s only when GOP elites jump ship that Republican voters will follow suit.”
I don't think we'll ever know. Donald Trump petrifies Republican politicians. They are the worst cowards in American life. So I'd expect this stalemate to continue unless Trump loses in 2020. And, of course, they cheat in elections so there's no guarantee that even a huge landslide will result in his defeat. We are on a knife's edge.
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