I swear, the Republican arguments on impeachment are so stupid, you can feel your IQ shedding points as soon as your brain starts winding up the rebuttal. The Republicans’ latest is a particularly choice entry in this crowded field but hell, can’t help myself, I’m going in.
The Democrats got nothing! You know how we can tell? They started with “quid pro quo,” then it was “extortion,” now it’s “bribery.” Clearly, they are floundering, all over the place, changing their story because they can’t pin anything on him. Case closed!
Jesus. Ok:
Quid pro quo, bribery, extortion. All the same thing, the same charge the Dems have levied against Trump from the start.
“Quid pro quo.” That is an element of bribery. In fact, this phrase was made central to the debate by Trump, not the Dems. It was Trump’s first and most insistent defense, that he did not in fact demand Investigations in exchange for the military aid. Sure, he asked as a favor, a friendly suggestion—President Zelensky should want to do the investigations!—but he was not demanding it as a condition of getting the aid.
Well, half a dozen credible witnesses later, it is pretty much conceded on the other side that, yeah quid pro quo. But that’s how foreign policy works, right? We don’t just hand over money willy nilly, we make sure we get something for our taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars. Totally appropriate, it’s what presidents are supposed to do.
That brings us to “bribery.” Getting something for the USA, in exchange for foreign aid, is indeed a good thing, standard foreign policy stuff. The problem we have here, however, is that Trump was trading for something that benefited him personally, not the country. It’s the classic example of an impeachable offense, abusing the power of the office for personal gain.
And finally, “extortion.” Extortion is a particularly nasty form of bribery. There, the quid being dangled for the quo demanded is to refrain from hurting the victim.
Synonyms. Nuances. Breaking the crime down into its constituent parts, for discussion and proof. Not a shifting playbook of different crimes, just different words to describe and discuss the same offense. Indeed, when Nancy Pelosi announced that the House was commencing the impeachment inquiry, she used the word “shakedown.” A colorful synonym for “extortion.”
Kind of basic stuff, should not be necessary to explain to anyone reasonably fluent in English. But just for kicks, let’s try this additional exercise:
WITCH HUNT!
HOAX!
HOAX WITCHHUNT!
PRESIDENTIAL HARRASSMENT!
A SCAM! A SHAM!
A JOKE!
TREASON!!!
Wait, what? Are we supposed to laugh Adam Schiff off the stage or march him to the gallows?