Party identity is all Trump defenders have left

If President Trump is impeached by the House without the vote of a single Republican, you know what? He’ll still be impeached, and for good reason.

The same will be true if every Republican senator votes to acquit him. Partisan GOP solidarity might keep Trump in office — for another year — but it neither changes the facts as we know them nor absolves Congress of its constitutional responsibility. A decision by Republicans to put party loyalty ahead of the national interest cannot be allowed to derail this necessary process.

Would a “partisan” impeachment divide the country? If you haven’t noticed, the nation is pretty divided already. It’s understandable to worry about the reaction of the 45% of Americans who, according to the FiveThirtyEight.com average of polls, oppose impeachment and removal. But what about the 47.2% who support it?

I put the word partisan in quotes because the House, in constitutional terms, is acting not as “House Democrats” but as the House itself. The fact that the Democratic Party holds the majority does not absolve Speaker Nancy Pelosi or any other House member of the duty to hold Trump accountable for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

If Trump grossly abused his power and committed bribery in his dealings with Ukraine, as evidence strongly indicates, the House has no choice.

Tribalistic party identity is basically all the president’s defenders have left.

They complained that the House had not taken a formal vote to proceed with impeachment ... but then the House held such a vote. They complained that the House impeachment investigators were taking depositions of witnesses in secret ... but Republican committee members already had access to those hearings. They complained that transcripts of those interviews had not been released ... but now they are being released, and one of the loudest complainers, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he will refuse to read them.

They complained that there had been no public testimony that would allow the American people to judge for themselves ... but a public phase of the House investigation is began last week.

The latest diversionary Republican complaint is that the whole process is somehow illegitimate unless the anonymous whistleblower who brought the Ukraine scandal to light is made to testify publicly.

The problem with this contention is that the whistleblower’s second-hand suspicions have long since been superseded by first-hand sources and documents, including the rough transcript of the phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that was released by the White House. Republicans are basically arguing that an alleged arsonist, caught with a gas can in one hand and matches in the other, cannot be fairly tried without testimony from the passer-by who saw a building on fire and called 911.

You will note that all of the above arguments have to do with process, not substance. Evidence clearly indicates that Trump conditioned official acts — release of nearly $400 million in military aid and an invitation to the White House — on a commitment by Zelensky to meddle in the 2020 U.S. election. Republican members of Congress used to deny there was any quid pro quo, which in this case is Latin for bribery. Now they say there was but it doesn’t rise to an impeachable offense.

Assuming no exculpatory evidence surfaces, articles of impeachment will surely be drafted and brought to the House floor. I hope that some Republicans — perhaps a number of the 20 who have announced they are retiring — vote conscience over party. But if the entire GOP caucus puts party before duty, so be it.

Democrats and the lone independent congressman (former Republican Justin Amash of Michigan) will have honored their oath to defend the Constitution.

Then would come a trial in the Senate. With the exception of Graham and a few others, most Republican senators are taking the position that since they are potential jurors who may be called to sit in judgment of Trump, it would be improper for them to comment. I know for a fact that many of them are fully aware of how dangerously unfit Trump is to serve as president.

I also know that they greatly fear his wrath. Unless public airing of the evidence causes Trump to lose support among the GOP rank-and-file — which is possible but far from guaranteed — the Senate has to be considered highly unlikely to vote for removal.

But that is not an outcome to fear. If Republicans in Congress fail to do their job, voters will have to do it for them. This is not a moment to calculate the political odds. It’s a moment to do the right thing.