On Wednesday, 11 Republican congressmen carried through on their long-simmering threats to call for the impeachment of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The attempt to displace the person responsible for maintaining the special counsel investigation, even as that investigation continues to surface crimes and criminals. Seems like—and is—an utter abrogation of Congress’s responsibility to act as a check on the executive. The Republicans who signed that legislation put their names down in, if not infamy, at least the roll call of those who placed their own needs light-years ahead of the nation.
Which is exactly what they intended. Because the Rosenstein “impeachment” legislation isn’t about impeaching Rosenstein. It’s not even about protecting Trump. It’s about being seen calling for the impeachment of Rosenstein, and being seen as if protecting Trump. Because of this:
Devin Nunes, dairy farmer and international security expert, was a ho-hum fundraiser, strictly middle of the pack—until this year. Nunes’s antics in defense of Trump have meant that he’s had to spend a lot less time on the phone to Republican hotshots or, even less desirably, out talking to people in his own district. Instead, most of Nunes’s money in this cycle has flown in from Trump fans far away from CA-22. True, the time he’s spent defending Trump and the general embarrassment Nunes has made of himself has dropped his lead in the polls. But, like most of the congressmen who signed onto the anti-Rosenstein bill, Nunes had a big fat margin to play with. And now he has $6M cash on hand.
The reason these congressmen are signing onto the We Hate Rosenstein bill, isn’t because they all expect to see the backside of the deputy attorney general. It’s certainly not about anything to do with Congress’s ability to leash the DOJ. It’s about shaking their fists … and waiting for the cash.
The biggest result of the legislation filed against Rod Rosenstein is that it will allow the Republicans who filed it to stand in front of their audiences and talk about how they went after Rosenstein. It doesn’t quite put them at the prow of the constitutional icebreaker being driven by Nunes, but it does show their constituents—and more importantly, Trump PACS and supporters who are not their constituents—that they value Trump first, most, and always.
They’re gambling that raising their clenched fists for Trump will do for them what it’s done for Nunes: generate more than enough dollars to cover anyone upset by the fact that they’re basically rubbing out the “balance” part of checks and balances. After all, what are people going to do? Vote for Democrats? Here’s the 2016 margins for the congressmen “brave” enough to put their names on this piece of paper, compared with the suddenly cash-covered Nunes.
None of these congressmen is taking much of a risk by moving to the far right, or even the uber reich. Mark Meadows was actually the smallest margin of the bunch, and he won by 25 percent. And if it looks like someone is missing, that’s because Congressman Jody Hide ran unopposed and was left off the chart to preserve the scale.
None of this makes what these eleven did any less despicable. In fact, it only makes it worse.
Republicans against Rosenstein aren’t concerned about anything except being seen making a noise. Because they believe their districts are far too red for them to ever be in trouble, and they believe there’s gold in them-there MAGA hat-wearing idiots and suspiciously fat PACs outside their districts. They’re betting that, in 2018, being insufficiently anti-democracy is a mistake for Republicans. Because there may be a blue wave coming, but the Republicans who don’t get swept away will be those wearing the deepest red … right up to their armbands.
And for these guys, and the audience they’re trying to reach with this move, the fact that the man they are ceremonially impeaching is named “Rosenstein,” doesn’t hurt at all.