Jared Golden, Democratic congressman from Maine, is trying to split the difference on impeaching President Trump, as though attempting to remove him from office is a deal where everyone can win some.
Golden, whose district supported Trump in 2016, posted a lengthy note on his Facebook page Tuesday evening wherein he explained why he plans to vote for only one of the two articles of impeachment House Democrats drafted last week.
“I see it as my duty to vote in support of Article I in order to send a clear message to the president, to the country, and to the world that foreign interference in American elections is not acceptable, not welcomed, and will not be tolerated,” he wrote. “In the end, I believe the failure of Congress to act in a bipartisan fashion to send this message may represent the greatest threat of all to the health of our democracy.”
In essence, Golden is saying he believes the president did something so wrong that it merits his removal from office. But, Golden is also saying he believes Democrats didn’t really do things the way he liked so he won’t condone their conduct in the impeachment proceedings.
This would be like ordering a lobster dinner, eating all of it, and then telling the server that you didn’t like the way he placed the plate on the table, so you won’t be paying for it.
The only reason Golden would have for voting yes on one charge and no on another is so he can say at that he voted to impeach the president and that he didn’t.
But impeachment doesn’t come in degrees. A president either is impeached or he isn’t, regardless of the number of articles brought and regardless of whether one article gets more votes than two or three or 50.
Golden’s note reads as though he arrived at his split-the-baby decision after careful deliberation and a lot of studying of history. That’s not what happened. He simply wanted to give the impression of being above this mess.
But he’s not above the mess. He is voting for impeachment, just like nearly every other Democrat.
