Republican And Democratic Strategist Clash Over Donald Trump Impeachment
On Saturday, Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and Republican strategist Doug Heye clashed while discussing the impeachment of President Donald Trump, reports Raw Story.
The two discussed the issue on CNN.
Heye began the conversation by arguing that impeachment is not a legal process but a political one, which is why Republicans are spending large amounts of money to target Democrats in swing districts. Those Democrats, according to Heye, are complaining to Speaker of the House of Representative Nancy Pelosi about the money that is being spent against them.
“Nancy Pelosi warned about this being a partisan process,” the Republican strategist said.
“It sure is going to be, and as the that’s one of the reasons why censure is the better way to move forward,” he added.
Reports have indeed alleged that vulnerable Democrats worry about the impact impeachment will have on their electoral prospects, and complaining to Pelosi about the GOP spending record amounts of money on advertisements in their districts.
Vulnerable Democrats are reportedly unhappy with how party leadership has approached impeachment and feel abandoned by leaders who appear to be letting the GOP outspend them. According to analyses, GOP-aligned groups have spent around $8 million on television advertisements in swing districts, and Democratic groups have spent only $2.7 million.
Responding to Heye’s arguments, Cardona conceded that he has a point about impeachment not being a “slam dunk” for Democrats.
“Many Democrats are going to be very nervous and there may be some who will lose their seats over this,” she said, arguing that Pelosi would not have even impeached the president had there not been pressure from Democratic lawmakers representing swing districts.
However, the Democratic strategist argued, voters will reward the Democratic Party’s decision to move forward with impeachment because it shows that they “have leaders who are putting the self-interests of the country before their own political self-interest.”
“It is bigger than just one seat in Congress,” Cardona said, praising Democrats for deciding to impeach the president.
“They are putting their oaths of office in front of their own self-interest. That’s something the president should try once in a while,” she said.
Democrats in the House of Representatives are impeaching Trump over alleged obstruction of Congress and abuse of power. Democrats claim Trump committed impeachable offenses when he allegedly pressured Ukrainian authorities to launch investigations into his political rivals.
The House is voting to impeach Trump next week, and the process will then continue in the GOP-controlled Senate. The Senate is expected to acquit Trump of all charges, but speculation has arisen that a group of Republican senators is willing to deflect and vote to convict the president.