WaPo's Jennifer Rubin trashes Rob Portman
This column by Rubin is spot on. If you hit a paywall, try browsing incognito, it's well worth the read. Portman is an effing disgrace and total hypocrite, and Rubin really lets him have it here.
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He is just shy of 64 years old, a former director of the Office of Management and Budget, a former U.S. trade representative, a former congressman and now in his second term in the Senate. You would think, by this time, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) would feel free to follow his conscience, the consequences be damned. He does not need his position, and in any case is not on the ballot until 2022. Yet he operates seemingly in perpetual fear of triggering President Trump’s ire and — oh no! — a primary challenger.
The Post reports:
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), an advocate for Ukraine, said, “I thought it was inappropriate for the president to ask a foreign government to investigate a political opponent.” But Portman also added: “I also do not think it’s an impeachable offense.”
You would think that an “advocate for Ukraine” would be horrified that the president illegally withheld aid appropriated by Congress so as to extort Ukraine, demanding that its president make a public commitment to provide dirt on former vice president Joe Biden, at a time Ukraine is fighting for its survival against Russia. You would think someone of Portman’s stature would realize that if Trump can extort foreign governments to aid in his reelection, future presidents can do the same, thereby sacrificing U.S. sovereignty and placing elections in the hands of foreigners. You would think that Portman, who has served in the executive branch, would understand that even the request to a foreign power to interfere in our elections is a grave breach of the president’s oath of office.
(snip)
And even if he is not willing to support impeachment, he is not going to vote for this guy for four more years, right? Nope. That is exactly what he says he will do. Portman concludes that none of Trump’s conduct disqualifies him from four more years. Trump is deserving of reelection in Portman’s book.
I raise Portman not because he is the worst of the Trump apologists but because he should know better. He should at this time in his career have the confidence and independence to defend the Constitution, as he surely would if a Democrat were in the White House. We do not even have to speculate on that point. Portman voted to impeach President Bill Clinton for lying under oath about a matter entirely unrelated to the performance of his duties. This was what Portman said at the time:
"After careful consideration, I have concluded that President Clinton has committed serious offenses that merit impeachment by the United States House of Representatives. Committing perjury, obstructing justice and abusing the power of the presidency violate the rule of law that all citizens — even the President — must obey. And, of course, these acts are fundamentally inconsistent with the oath the President — as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer — took to “faithfully execute” the laws of the United States. I am particularly troubled by the clear evidence of lying under oath, in that truth is the bedrock of our judicial system.
I am also concerned because the President — by the very nature of his office — has a special responsibility to set an example. At a minimum, there cannot be one standard for the President and another for the citizens he serves. This past summer, I called on President Clinton to resign. I did so because I believed it was the right thing to do for the country in order to maintain the honor and dignity of the Office of the Presidency and to spare the country from going through a long, divisive and distracting impeachment process."
More
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/30/portman-profile-an-enabler/
= new reply since forum marked as read
and went there once with my parents, during a road trip we made to see the Serpent Mound and other points of interest.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpent_Mound
