Democrats say the impeachment of a U.S. president is a very “solemn” and “somber” business. Normally, it would be. But even they don’t believe this when it comes to the impeachment of President Trump.
For Democrats, there is nothing “solemn” or “somber” about it, as the gloating and giddy members of their caucus keep revealing. It is as big a game to them as it is to the Trump campaign, which is now fundraising off impeachment, and to the Republican National Committee, which raised an astonishing $20.6 million in November.
Yet somehow, journalists keep describing the proceedings with the exact terms used by Democrats, perfectly parroting the political talking point that the opposition party finds no joy in pursuing articles of impeachment against Trump.
“Not any of us came to Congress to impeach a president,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in October. It’s a lie — many freshmen Democrats, most notably Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, would beg to differ. “This is a very sad time for our country. It’s a very somber time for our country.”
Later, on Dec. 13, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said of the House Judiciary Committee’s vote to approve articles of impeachment against President Trump that “this is a solemn and somber day for our country.” The chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, called it a “somber moment.”
On Wednesday, as the House prepared to vote to impeach Trump, the speaker said again, “I solemnly and sadly open the debate on the impeachment of the President of the United States.”
Yes, an event so “solemn” that House Democrats rushed to get there, not bothering to barrel forward through committee hearings with a ham-handedness that revealed this entire episode for the political exercise that it is. An event so “somber” that Pelosi had to issue a general reminder this week to members of her party warning them not to cheer or applaud when they vote to impeach the president.
Only a dupe or an activist would use words like “somber” or “solemn” to describe an event that has been anything but.
“A somber Pelosi wields her impeachment power in ‘sadness’ — and with ferocity,” reads the headline to a CNN article about the House’s vote this week to impeach.
The Daily News reported, “Black-clad Nancy Pelosi invokes spirit of late Rep. Elijah Cummings in somber final debate on impeachment of Trump.”
“Legacy moment: Pelosi leads ‘somber’ Trump impeachment,” the Associated Press reported.
The Hill called it, “A solemn impeachment day on Capitol Hill.”
“House Democrats strike ‘sad,’ ‘solemn’ tone in marathon debate over impeaching Trump,” reported CBS News.
The New York Times filed a story Wednesday that used the words “somber” and “solemn” twice apiece to describe Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues.
I understand why Democrats use these words to describe their efforts. They need Americans to believe that they are serious about fighting executive corruption and abuses of power and that this is not about one party trying to wrest power from another.
But what is the news media’s excuse?
