This is not a good look for Republican senators as the bombshells from the House impeachment hearings continue to drop. Do they approach the process with all the gravity doing their constitutional duty demands, or do they openly draw out a sham process for weeks to cause the maximum pain for their Democratic colleagues running for president?
Three guesses which way they're leaning. Will they schedule the hearings to keep those candidates off the campaign trail in Iowa and New Hampshire, just before the primaries? "That might be a strategy," Sen. Ron Johnson told The Washington Post with what it described as "a coy smile." He added, "But I'll leave that up to others. I'm just a lowly worker." Texas Sen. John Cornyn said, "Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden might like that," after telling the Post that the Senate would try to distinguish itself during impeachment “by doing this right."
For his part, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly "had little guidance for his ranks" in a conference luncheon, saying that a trial would go as long as the Senate said it should. "I think the consensus in our conference is at least that we need to proceed and take seriously the responsibility we have," said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the Republican whip. "How long that takes is an open question … but I suspect that, you know, it'd go on for a while." Because they need to give the appearance of taking this seriously, if nothing else than for their vulnerable colleagues in swing states.
The outcome, as far as Republicans and certainly their leader are concerned, is preordained. McConnell has already acquitted Trump, saying last week, "I'm pretty sure how it's likely to end: If it were today I don't think there's any question it would not lead to a removal."
So while they might be making the bare effort to pretend they're taking this seriously, the fix is in, and extending the trial for weeks won't be because they want to get all the facts out; it will be because they want to screw the Democratic front-runners and fellow Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. For their part, Sanders and Warren will do what they have to do. Sanders says, "We will do our best to get back to Iowa, to get to New Hampshire, to get to all the states that we have to. […] But there’s no question it will make our life a little bit more difficult." Warren said Wednesday that the Senate has "constitutional responsibilities," and "if the House goes forward and sends impeachment over to the Senate, then I will be there for the trial."