Impeachment has always been about party loyalty

As the House debates whether to impeach President Trump, which it will almost certainly do later today, one common line of defense both Democrats and Republicans have tossed around is that support for or opposition to impeachment has nothing to do with party loyalty.

“Please don’t imply I’m doing this just for my party,” said Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, after one of his Democratic colleagues accused the GOP of putting politics above principle. “I’m doing this for what I believe is right, not for my political party.”