Paul Reaches New Heights Of False Equivalency By Claiming Dems Actually Incite Violence

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) (Photo by Alex Edelman-Pool/Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) took to the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon arguing that impeaching former President Donald Trump is unconstitutional and merely a “partisan vendetta” spearheaded by “angry, unhinged” Democrats. 

Taking his argument a step further than some of his Republican colleagues who are pinning their unconstitutionality argument on the fact that Trump is no longer president, Paul posited that Trump should not be impeached for inciting the Capitol mob because Democrats have supposedly exhibited similar behavior. 

While Paul’s argument may be the most extreme, it’s just the latest entry in Republicans whitewashing Trump’s incitement of the Capitol insurrection and all of their own amplifying of the election fraud lies that led to it. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), in an illustrative example, said in an interview that aired Sunday that “everybody across this nation is to blame” for the Capitol attack.

Paul will force a vote on the constitutionality of the impeachment trial when the Senate reconvenes around 2:30 pm E.T. Paul has indicated to reporters that he expects more than a third of the Senate to vote that the trial is unconstitutional. 

A few Republicans — usual suspects like Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — are on record vouching for the constitutionality of the trial. The vast majority of constitutional scholars from across the political spectrum agree with them, though Republicans have been eagerly amplifying the few who don’t. One of those, Jonathan Turley, was invited to join the Senate Republicans for lunch on Tuesday. Turley served as the Republicans’ sole witness during Trump’s previous impeachment.

In a floor speech stuffed with both-sideserism, Paul said it was a “credit” to the Republican Party that they haven’t called for the impeachment of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for supposedly radicalizing the man who shot Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Vice President Kamala Harris for offering to pay bail for Black Lives Matter protesters, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) for telling his supporters to “get up in the face” of congresspeople and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) for urging people to create a crowd around Trump administration members at restaurants.

“No Republican has sought to use the government to hold these Democrats responsible for Antifa and Black Lives Matter violence that has consumed our cities all summer,” Paul said. “Not one Republican said ‘let’s impeach the Democrats who are inciting this’ because it would be ridiculous.” 

He also went after Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy (D-VT) who will be presiding over the impeachment trial, as opposed to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, saying that no sense of fairness would allow a “partisan Democrat” to act as judge. A Senate source told TPM that senators preside when the person being impeached is not the current president.

Leahy preemptively addressed Paul’s criticism on Monday, telling reporters that no one in his “40-plus” years in the Senate would say he was “anything but impartial” when ruling on procedure. 

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) took the floor after Paul, giving voice to the other Republican tactic that GOP lawmakers are using to avoid doling out accountability for the insurrection: a call for unity.  

“A trial of a former president is simply vindictive,” he said, waving away the constitutionality question as having “legitimate arguments” on both sides. “It is like opening up a wound and throwing salt in it.” 

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. " Paul Reaches New Heights Of False Equivalency By Claiming Dems Actually Incite Violence"

    Which, it should be pointed out in every article you write henceforth about these twits, is in and of itself another way for Rand Paul to incite far right extremist violence.

  2. “No Republican has sought to use the government to hold these Democrats responsible for Antifa and Black Lives Matter violence that has consumed our cities all summer,” Paul said. “Not one Republican said ‘let’s impeach the Democrats who are inciting this’ because it would be ridiculous.”

    Yeah! Let’s roll the tape on that well-known time Biden went to a BLM protest and said, “Let’s go have ourselves a riot!”

  3. Paul has indicated to reporters that he expects more than a third of the Senate to vote that the trial is unconstitutional.

    Pssst…hey dickhead, 1/3 is not a majority

  4. "Paul posited that Trump should not be impeached for inciting the Capitol mob because Democrats have supposedly exhibited similar behavior. "

    Context and fact are never an inclusion are they for Rand? As far as that goes, Rand only understands context as a message from a felon. I guess Capital Lives Matter! Particularly the Republican ones that work there.

  5. There are No Fake “Opthamologists” So Blind As Those Who Can Nazi.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

189 more replies

Participants

Avatar for valgalky23 Avatar for ncsteve Avatar for theod Avatar for squirreltown Avatar for becca656 Avatar for sniffit Avatar for chelsea530 Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for left_in_washington_state Avatar for fuzz Avatar for leftcoaster Avatar for khaaannn Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for tena Avatar for tsp Avatar for thecaptain Avatar for coimmigrant Avatar for dannydorko Avatar for jquas2sunset Avatar for kelaine Avatar for seamus42 Avatar for skeptical Avatar for zillacop Avatar for LeeHarveyGriswold

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: