Live on this week’s The Brief: Impeachment trial and the future of the Republican Party

I’m excited about this week’s episode of Daily Kos’ The Brief, with me and Kerry Eleveld, featuring two fantastic guests! The first is our first repeat guest, Elie Mystal of The Nation, an expert on legal matters and one of the most entertaining people I’ve ever encountered. You’ll love him!

We also get to visit with Sarah Longwell, founder of the never-Trumper publication The Bullwark, founder of the Republican Accountability Project, and founder of Republican Voters Against Trump. We’ll talk about what happened to her party, and whether it has any future in its current state. 

The Brief is now also a podcast! You can catch it wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Please subscribe and leave a review to help the podcast grow. The more people we reach, the better we spread the Daily Kos message of grassroots empowerment and progress. 

Pelosi Wants ‘9/11-Type Commission’ To Investigate Capitol Riot

On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she plans to create an “outside, independent 9/11-type Commission” to investigate January’s Capitol Hill attack. 

In her weekly letter to colleagues, Pelosi told her House colleagues that the commission will “investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex.”

RELATED: House Republicans Send Brutal Message To Pelosi – Demand Answers From Her On Security Decisions Before Capitol Riot

Pelosi’s Call For 9-11-Style Commission Comes Two Days After Trump Acquittal

Pelosi added that the query will also delve into anything “relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power.”

This call from the Democrat leader comes only two days after former President Donald Trump being acquitted on impeachment by the U.S. senate.

That vote was 57-43, with seven Republicans voting against Trump and for a conviction.

Democrats can’t seem to give up Trump. Pelosi isn’t the only Democrat calling for an independent commission.

Democratic Senator Chris Coons has signaled support for such an investigation, saying, “There’s still more evidence that the American people need and deserve to hear and a 9/11 commission is a way to make sure that we secure the Capitol going forward.”

Coons added, “And that we lay bare the record of just how responsible and how abjectly violating of his constitutional oath President Trump really was.”

Democrats And Media Still Obsessing Over Trump

Before Trump was acquitted on Saturday, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Republican senators that he too would vote to acquit Trump.

But McConnell also blasted Trump, claiming the former president was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day,” meaning the January 6 Capitol Hill riot.

And while McConnell also argued that the impeachment trial was unconstitutional now that Trump is no longer president, such a high ranking Republican making those comments was easy fodder for the Democrats.

Democratic Congresswoman Madeleine Dean said of McConnell and the Republicans, “It was powerful to hear the 57 guilties and then it was puzzling to hear and see Mitch McConnell stand and say ‘not guilty’ and then, minutes later, stand again and say he was guilty of everything.” 

“History will remember that statement of speaking out of two sides of his mouth,” Dean added.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer reminded followers in a tweet on Monday that in addition to Pelosi’s commission, other happenings regarding Trump will make sure we “learn a lot more” about the final days of his administration.

In other words, the media will not give up their addiction to all things Trump.

RELATED: Whoopi Goldberg Gushes Over Biden – ‘We Finally Have A President In Office Who We Are Honored To Celebrate’

CNN’s Blitzer: ‘Bottom line: we are going to learn a lot more’

“The Trump trial is over but local, state & federal investigations continue,” Blitzer tweeted. “There might be a 9/11-type commission.”

“News organizations continue to investigate,” Blitzer continued. “And @realBobWoodward is working on a book on Trump’s final days in office.”

“Bottom line: we are going to learn a lot more,” the CNN host finished.

Donald Trump might be gone from the White House but don’t expect the Democrats or their media spokespeople to stopped being obsessed with him anytime soon.

The post Pelosi Wants ‘9/11-Type Commission’ To Investigate Capitol Riot appeared first on The Political Insider.

Former 9/11 investigator joins bipartisan calls for new commission to probe Capitol attack

Former President Trump's second impeachment trial has concluded, but questions still remain over the Jan. 6 insurrection. Now, former 9/11 Commission co-chairs Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton are calling on President Biden to create an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the assault at the U.S. Capitol. Kean, who is also the former New Jersey governor, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

MSNBC Guest Says GOP Senators Who Voted To Impeach Trump ‘Helped Their Obituaries’

Historian Jon Meacham went on MSNBC on Monday to disturbingly claim that the Republican senators who voted in favor of impeaching former President Donald Trump “helped their obituaries.”

Meacham Talks Impeachment

Meacham was talking about the impeachment trial on “Morning Joe” when host Willie Geist pointed out that the Republicans who voted to convict Trump were already facing “blowback.”

“Yeah. If I were Sen. Burr, I would embrace that. Sometimes we talk about obituary management. Those seven folks just helped their obituaries,” Meacham replied, according to The Daily Caller.

“I think about this a lot when you see we’re at the point in the actuarial cycle where a lot of folks involved in Watergate are moving on,” he added. “And, it’s just interesting to see what is it that you’re remembered for.”

“I’m sure Sen. Burr is a lovely man. I’m sure he has done a lot for North Carolina and America,” he added. “But, I promise you that the thing right now that looms largest is that he decided we’re a constitutional republic not a cult of personality. And in many ways, that’s what that vote was about.”

Related: Lindsey Graham Declares Lara Trump ‘Biggest Winner’ Of Impeachment Trial As He Backs Her For Senate

Burr Joins Democrats In Impeaching Trump

Trump was acquitted by the Senate on Saturday in a 57-43 vote, with seven Republicans joining Democrats in voting in favor of impeachment.

Of these seven, one of the biggest surprises was Republican North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, who had just voted that the trial was unconstitutional a few days prior. In the wake of this, Burr is facing censure by his state’s Republican Party, which is meeting on Monday to decide what action to take.

“On this Presidents Day, one of the things to think about is we do have a different president. And 81 million Americans made what I would argue is the right choice in November,” Meacham said.

“And 57 United States senators, not enough, but 57 United States senators said that this man was — the former president, was guilty of inciting insurrection against his own government,” Meacham continued. “And that 57-43 number, while not determinative in a constitutional sense, is probably not that far off from where the country at large is about the Republican party.”

“If I were a Republican right now and I was thinking not in 10-minute terms, which is what they are doing, but 10-year terms, I would feel an existential crisis,” he concluded.

Read Next: Pelosi Wants ‘9/11-Type Commission’ To Investigate Capitol Riot

This piece was written by James Samson on February 15, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

Read more at LifeZette:
Van Der Veen Owns Impeachment Trial Fourth Day
Former First Lady Melania Trump Announces That She’s Opened New Office At Mar-a-Lago
Gretchen Whitmer Rebuffed By Michigan County As Residents Are Told To ‘Self-Determine’ Safety Measures

The post MSNBC Guest Says GOP Senators Who Voted To Impeach Trump ‘Helped Their Obituaries’ appeared first on The Political Insider.

Lindsey Graham Declares Lara Trump ‘Biggest Winner’ Of Impeachment Trial As He Backs Her For Senate

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) spoke out over the weekend to declare Lara Trump to be the “biggest winner” of impeachment trial as he threw his support behind her for Senate in North Carolina. Republican Senate candidate Mark Walker of North Carolina, however, is already pushing back against Graham on this.

Graham Praises Lara Trump

While appearing on Fox News on Sunday, Graham said that the decision of retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina to vote in favor of convicting former President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial makes Lara a shoe-in to win the 2022 Republican nomination to succeed Burr.

“The biggest winner of this whole impeachment trial I think is Lara Trump,” Graham said. 

“My dear friend Richard Burr, who I like and I’ve been friends to a long time, just made Lara Trump almost the certain nominee for the Senate seat in North Carolina to replace him if she runs, and I certainly would be behind her because I think she represents the future of the Republican Party,” he added.

Related: Lara Trump May Go For North Carolina Senate Seat

Walker Fires Back

Walker, the only major Republican to officially jump into this race so far, fired back on Monday morning in an interview with Fox Business.

“In the words of I believe it was John Ashcroft, Lindsey is always confident but not always right,” he said. He went on to claim that he is not paying attention to other potentially candidates who may jump into this race, which is likely to be hotly contested.

“We can’t control what anyone else is doing,” Walker said. “This is something we’re focused on because it’s in our heart to do, service has been part of our life for nearly a quarter century and we’re going to continue to do so.”

Related: Eric Trump Eviscerates CNN’s Jake Tapper As ‘So Angry And Smug’ After Host Cuts Interview With His Wife Short

Former RNC Spokesman Speaks Out 

Doug Heye, a former Republican National Committee spokesman and a North Carolina native who previously worked for Burr, also took issue with what Graham said.

“I don’t see how Saturday’s vote affect that at all,” Heye said. “You’ve got to do some crazy kind of algebra and cheating your math to get that.”

He added that Lara “could raise a ton of money” if she ran, but he questioned if she’ll actually launch a campaign.

This piece was written by James Samson on February 15, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

Read more at LifeZette:
Van Der Veen Owns Impeachment Trial Fourth Day
Former First Lady Melania Trump Announces That She’s Opened New Office At Mar-a-Lago
WH Deputy Press Secretary TJ Ducklo Suspended For Reportedly Threatening, Demeaning Female Reporter

The post Lindsey Graham Declares Lara Trump ‘Biggest Winner’ Of Impeachment Trial As He Backs Her For Senate appeared first on The Political Insider.

GOP falls into further disarray after seven Republican senators admit Trump was 100% guilty

Donald Trump may have escaped conviction, but the Republican Party will be suffering the consequences of his abhorrent insurrection for years to come. The fact that a historic number of GOP Senate and House lawmakers joined Democrats in declaring Trump guilty of betraying the country sets up a dramatic rift in a party that already appears to be going through a tumultuous realignment

Trump's constant defender, golf partner, and sometimes election meddler Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina rushed out to the Sunday talk shows to assure Republicans they are doooooomed without Donald Trump. “Donald Trump is the most vibrant member of the Republican Party. The Trump movement is alive and well,” Graham told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace. “All I can say is that the most potent force in the Republican Party is President Trump. We need Trump.”

The notion that a guy who just came the closest leader in American history to getting convicted of impeachment charges is the "most vibrant member" of the GOP is really a stunning admission—Graham just doesn't know it. Graham is legitimately panicked. In essence, Republicans can't win without Trump, but trying to win with him is going to weigh down the party like a bag of bricks. 

Graham panned as "wrong" a recent move by Republican Nikki Haley to try (yet again!) to distance herself from Trump as she angles for 2024. Graham also twice declared during the Fox interview, "I'm into winning," taking a swipe at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for ripping into Trump in a cynical effort to appease corporate donors who have soured on him.

But Graham did make one observation that is surely true about McConnell's oratory castigation of Trump despite the fact that he ultimately surrendered to casting an acquittal vote. "That speech you will see in 2022 campaigns,” Graham predicted. Truth. Any right-wing Trumper who emerges victorious after a bruising GOP primary will certainly hear the echo of McConnell's words slamming their general election pitch. 

McConnell knew that before he made the speech, and it also tells you just how desperate he is to keep those corporate donations flowing. He was trying to split the baby by acquitting Trump in one breath and skewering him in the next, but that’s also bound to cause some GOP collateral damage heading into 2022.

Just to truly drive home how far the GOP star has fallen, Graham declared none other than Lara Trump, the supremely uninspired beneficiary of Trump nepotism and Ivanka wannabe, the future of the Republican Party. Verbatim—not kidding.

“The biggest winner I think of this whole impeachment trial is Lara Trump,” Graham said. “If she runs, I will certainly be behind her because I think she represents the future of the Republican Party.”

Lara led Trump's "Women for Trump" initiative targeting the suburbs, which you may recall, wasn't the electoral fast ball the campaign hoped it would be.

On the other side of Graham's sycophantic appeals and McConnell's Machiavellian maneuvering was Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who seemed to grow genuinely outraged over the course of the trial by Trump's murderous riot and overt lack of remorse. After Cassidy voted to convict, he released an exceedingly simply and unapologetic statement: "Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty."

On ABC's This Week Sunday, Cassidy predicted Trump's influence over the party had peaked and was on its way down. “I think his force wanes," Cassidy said.

What's so fascinating is that both Graham and Cassidy are likely speaking shades of the truth. Trump remains the most high-profile Republican nationwide and, while he will surely continue to harness the intensity of the nativist wing of the GOP, his ability to command a broad enough coalition to win national and statewide elections has just as surely taken a hit. In essence, Trump is a short-term bandage for a gaping oozing wound within the Republican Party. The Lindsey Grahams of the world are clinging to Trump for dear life, but his epic toxicity guarantees that wound will only deepen in the months and years ahead. 

GOP Rep Says Impeachment Was Really About Dems Trying To Frame 74 Million Trump Voters As Capitol Rioters

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) spoke out over the weekend to say that the last impeachment effort against former President Donald Trump was really about Democrats trying to “equate” the 74 million Americans who voted for him with “the couple hundred criminals who came in an ransacked the Capitol.”

Johnson Reveals What Impeachment Was Really About

Johnson explained that he feels that the “ultimate goal” for Democrats with this impeachment was to frame Trump’s supporters as indistinguishable from Capitol rioters.

“They really wanted to use impeachment as a vehicle because they wanted to equate all those tens of millions of Trump’s voters and all of his supporters and everybody who came to the rally, they wanted to equate all of those people with the couple hundred criminals who came in and ransacked the Capitol,” Johnson told Breitbart News.

“If [Democrats’] new impeachment standard is to take hold, most of the party leadership in the Democrats will have to be censured or impeached themselves,” he added. “I thought Trump’s attorneys did such a great job with their video montage where they showed all these guys — even the impeachment managers themselves — using the exact same language that they were trying to incriminate the president by using.”

“[Trump] has always stood for law and order and defense of the Constitution,” Johnson said emphatically. “He’s always opposed mob violence.”

Related: Lindsey Graham Says Mitch McConnell’s Anti-Trump Speech May Come Back To Bite Republicans

Johnson Doubles Down

Later in the interview, Johnson predicted that congressional majorities will be using impeachment as political tools more often in the future.

“You are lowering the bar [for impeachment] now. You weaponized this,” he said. “You turned it into a political weapon to be used by the majority party against a president they don’t like. You opened a Pandora’s box that we may never be able to close again.”

Johnson added that he does not believe that the impeachment effort that Democrats just carried out was what the founding fathers had in mind when they framed the Constitution.

“What the Founders had in mind when they set up this impeachment article and the idea behind it was that it would be so serious that the decorum would be so appropriate for the weight of a moment like that,” Johnson explained.

Related: ‘Never-Trump’ Republicans Looking To Form Their Own Party

“It was sort of presupposed,” he added. “It was understood, of course, that you would afford due process. They didn’t need to spell out the federal rules of the civil procedure in the Constitution for something like this because they thought that everyone would be acting like adults.”

“This was not a constitutional exercise,” Johnson concluded. “What [Democrats] tried to do [is] to raise ‘cancel culture’ now to a constitutional level.”

This piece was written by James Samson on February 15, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

Read more at LifeZette:
Van Der Veen Owns Impeachment Trial Fourth Day
Former First Lady Melania Trump Announces That She’s Opened New Office At Mar-a-Lago
WH Deputy Press Secretary TJ Ducklo Suspended For Reportedly Threatening, Demeaning Female Reporter

The post GOP Rep Says Impeachment Was Really About Dems Trying To Frame 74 Million Trump Voters As Capitol Rioters appeared first on The Political Insider.