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Justin Amash, Watergate, and Russiagate
May 21, 2019 (analysis) It is said that history does not repeat itself, but has echoes. We are living through one of those at the moment. Fists off let's dispense with the idea that impeachment has to be bipartisan. It was not either during Watergate or the Lewinsky scandal.
Watergate saw consensus emerge between the two parties only after extensive hearings. The issue started to take shape only after the Saturday Night Massacre. A single Republican broke with the party and remained alone, and attacked by his party elders until it was late in the process. We hardly remember his name, and I suspect the same fate awaits Congressman Justin Amash. Once this is over, he will likely become a footnote in a history book or two. However, his willingness to put his political neck on the line is commendable.
The problem is not Amash, but the Democratic Leadership and the environment of political tribalism we see in Washington. Speaker Nancy Pelosi learned the exact wrong lessonS from the Lewinsky scandal. Why she did not hold George W. Bush accountable for the Iraq war. Nor will she go after this president if she can avoid it. In effect, she is making the executive stronger and weakening Congress.
This is where the echoes also come. Partisanship is part of the soup in DC and the idea that Republicans abandoned Nixon, which Pelosi keeps…