To the dustbin of obscurity

Published February 6, 2020

By Thomas Mills

Mitt Romney told the truth on the Republicans yesterday. If they had any sense of honor, they would all be ashamed. Romney stood on the Senate floor and clearly and concisely debunked the president’s defense of the charges against him. He also laid out his responsibility to the country to do what’s right. That can’t be said of most of the other Republican Senators. 

In North Carolina, Thom Tillis continued his clown show, doing his best Donald Trump reality show imitation. He tore up the articles of impeachment in a video, mocking Nancy Pelosi’s reaction to Trump’s State of the Union address. Tillis has made plain that his re-election comes first and he’ll put Trump ahead of country every time. He’s become a parody of a sycophant. 

As for Richard Burr, he released a self-righteous statement declaring, “The Founding Fathers who crafted our modern impeachment mechanism predicted this moment, and warned against a solely partisan and politically-motivated process.” This is the same Richard Burr who voted to impeach Bill Clinton for lying about an affair. Back then he said, “The United States is a nation of laws, not men and I do not believe we can ignore the facts or disregard the constitution so that the president can be placed above the law.” My, how things change. 

Burr also claimed that House didn’t prove his case, but Mitt Romney pretty clearly debunked that argument. So did Senator Lamar Alexander. Alexander said that what Trump did was clearly wrong and the evidence is so overwhelming, we didn’t even need to hear witnesses. Senator Lisa Murkowski echoed similar sentiments. Senator Ben Sasse says what the president did was clearly wrong but he shouldn’t have any consequences for bad behavior. And poor Susan Collins knows what Trump did is wrong but thinks President Trump has learned his lesson. Bless her heart. 

The rest of the Republicans know what Trump did was wrong, too. They know that he should face some sort of consequences. They just don’t have the moral fiber to do anything.

Mitt Romney put his political career on the line because his oath of office and commitment to the country and Constitution is greater than his commitment to the GOP. He’ll be attacked and vilified by members of his own party. He’ll likely receive death threats from unhinged Trumpists. And he’ll almost certainly suffer the wrath of the man-child in the White House. But he’ll have his integrity intact and history will likely remember him for his vote. 

Thom Tillis has no apparent convictions whatsoever and poor Richard Burr lacks the gray matter to make intelligent or consistent decisions. History won’t remember either of them. They’ll be confined to the dustbin of mediocrity that holds so many of our former elected officials. They could have made a difference and been remembered for their integrity but instead chose to follow the herd into obscurity.