The Atlantic

The Serious Silliness of Impeachment

The constitutional drama now playing out may feel like a circus, but the antics of the two parties are more than mere jousting: They are efforts to shape how the story will be understood for years to come.
Source: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

“Why do we keep calling this a solemn occasion?” Doug Collins, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, demanded to know during the House debate in advance of President Donald Trump’s impeachment.

He had a point: For all the robotic insistence of Democrats that impeachment was “sad,” “prayerful,” and “somber,” the debate devolved into bathos almost from the start. Republican Representative Steve Scalise screamed and struggled to dramatically tear a piece of paper. His colleague Barry Loudermilk argued that the president was being treated worse than Jesus Christ. (“I don’t like many Jesus comparisons,” the White House aide Kellyanne Conway later commented.) During the vote itself, perhaps the only suspense came when Republican Representative Michael Cloud mistakenly voted “yes” on the first article, giving rise to a short-lived moment during which bipartisanship suddenly seemed possible—before he switched his vote to align with those of his party. Just an hour later, the president stood onstage at a Michigan rally and yelled about toilets.

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