As the eyes of the American people turn to the public impeachment hearings set to kick off on Wednesday, Republicans are admitting that they plan to bury their heads in the sand.
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.”
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Other members of the Senate GOP leadership said they would tune out this week’s House hearings and only plan to pay attention to the arguments of House prosecutors after the House passes articles of impeachment, if the lower chamber in fact goes that far.
“I’ve got other things to do,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an adviser to McConnell.
“I think it’s a political sideshow and I’ve got more important things to do,” he said, indicating he would wait until the matter comes to the Senate before giving it his attention. “The House has its job to do and then when it comes to us that’s when our job kicks in.”
Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said “I don’t see any time in my schedule that I would be likely to watch any of it tomorrow.”
Ignorance is bliss for Republicans
Despite what Republicans leaders say on the eve of the highly anticipated public impeachment hearings, they aren’t too busy doing their jobs to tune in.
Instead, burying their heads in the sand is part of their impeachment defense strategy. Refusing to hear the damning facts means they can continue to cling to their outdated and debunked talking points.
No senator has perfected this strategy more than South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who said last week that he won’t read any witness transcripts that incriminate the president.
While it may make Republican leaders feel better to run to their safe spaces and avoid the impeachment hearings, they do so at their own peril.
After all, their constituents will be tuning in, and they’re increasingly going to want to know why GOP members of Congress are letting a president off the hook after he committed clear high crimes and misdemeanors.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
