House Republicans utterly humiliate themselves during televised Trump impeachment hearings

Attention Palmer Report readers: sign up for our free mailing list here
-----
Note from Bill Palmer: if each of you reading this can kick in $10 or $25, it'll help keep Palmer Report firing on all cylinders at this crucial time in our nation's history: Donate now


House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff kicked off today’s televised impeachment hearings by quoting Benjamin Franklin. Donald Trump kicked things off by quoting Fox and Friends. That tells you all you need to know about both men. The latter also served to give Trump’s House Republican allies their marching orders – and sure enough, they proceeded to thoroughly embarrass themselves.

It took the House Republicans all of a few seconds to begin interrupting Adam Schiff’s opening statement by invoking pointless points of order. But that proved to be their relative highlight, as House Republicans then moved on to incoherently rambling about conspiracy theory nonsense. Something about Hillary Clinton. Something about President Obama and blankets. You get the idea.

But really, this was just an embarrassment all around. When a second individual came forward this week to accuse Republican Congressman Jim Jordan of having covered up a sexual abuse scandal at Ohio State, the House Republican leadership responded by promoting Jordan to the House Intelligence Committee, so he could help lead the questioning. Jim Jordan is who the Republicans want representing them in televised impeachment hearings? What, was the creepy guy from the carnival not available?

Donald Trump told the House Republicans to act like hooligans, and sure enough, that’s the approach they’re taking in trying to defend him today. Trump will surely be happy, as will his deranged base. But Americans in the middle, who don’t have strong political leanings and are tuning in today to try to figure out which side of impeachment they should be on, are going to be turned off by these antics. Trump’s allies aren’t helping him today.

Attention Palmer Report readers: sign up for our free mailing list here
-----
Note from Bill Palmer: if each of you reading this can kick in $10 or $25, it'll help keep Palmer Report firing on all cylinders at this crucial time in our nation's history: Donate now