Matthew Continetti argues at National Review Online that congressional Democrats are making no serious case to win GOP votes for impeachment.
Jerry Nadler must have missed the day in law school where they teach you about persuasion. The House Democrat made a critical error early in the trial of President Trump. He didn’t just say that Republican senators, who voted to begin the proceedings without calling witnesses, were part of a cover-up. He said they had committed treason. …
… Easy, tiger. All Republicans did was follow the precedent of the Clinton trial. They also admitted the House evidence into the record. The vote on witnesses will arrive next week. Hysterical accusations of national betrayal won’t win the Democrats any converts. When Trump counsel Pat Cipollone said Nadler should feel embarrassed after insulting 53 U.S. senators, Chief Justice Roberts intervened to “admonish the House managers and the president’s counsel in equal terms to remember that they are addressing the world’s greatest deliberative body.” Roberts played it safe. He rebuked both sides. Nadler, though, was the reason he intervened. …
… The cynicism behind the Democratic strategy has brought Republicans together. There is little sign that the unity of the opening votes has dissipated. That can change, of course. Democrats hope to convince four Republicans to extend the trial by calling witnesses and requesting documents from the Trump administration. But they are having trouble. You can tell because Chuck Schumer’s press conferences are louder than usual. He’s not using them to convince the undecided (if such people exist). He’s taking the opportunity to draw a partisan contrast that he hopes will hurt Republicans in the fall.
I’m dubious. Impeachment is likely to be long forgotten by November. No one seems to be paying attention to it now.
