“The answer is yes, because I want to be straight with you,” said Rep. Beto O’Rourke, asked on Monday whether he’s seen enough evidence to vote in favor of impeaching President Trump.
O’Rourke, speaking in an interview on KFYO radio, elaborated. “I’ve seen an attempt, no matter how ham-handed, to collude with a foreign government in our national election. I’ve seen an effort to obstruct justice in the investigation of what happened in the 2016 election,” he told host Chad Hasty.
The congressman wouldn’t do it right away, though. “As a prospective senator,” said O’Rourke, who’s battling for Ted Cruz’s seat in the upper chamber, “we must await all the facts, all the truth, all the information forthcoming come from the Bob Mueller investigation.” He also argued impeachment “doesn’t make any sense” until the evidence is “so compelling” Republicans would be able to explain an impeachment vote to their constituents.
Last month, O’Rourke’s fellow House member Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., said “of course” Democrats will vote to impeach Trump if they take back the majority next fall. “Democrat candidates might be sketchy about admitting that, especially in more 50-50 seats, but of course they’re going to impeach Donald Trump,” he insisted.
O’Rourke’s comments this week seem to confirm that assumption, and they’re probably not going to help him in his run for Senate against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz.
Battling back against what appears more and more to be an impending blue wave, Republicans need to find a way to raise the stakes and address the enthusiasm gap going into November. Though it hasn’t been broached much by the candidates so far, discussing the possibility of impeachment seems like an obvious strategy to that end. As races move out of the primary phase and spring turns to summer, I would expect to hear more about it from GOP candidates looking to stir enthusiasm among the base.
