If one tried to articulate the principle on which the Republican push to impeach President Biden is based, it would have to go something like this: Public officials shouldn’t be permitted to profit from their positions, and anyone who does should be removed from office. Like any principle, this one should apply to every public official regardless of party or ideology.
But if any Republican said that out loud, the proper response would be to burst out laughing.
This isn’t just because Republicans have found no evidence that Biden is guilty of wrongdoing, despite the tireless efforts of multiple House committees. Nor is it because they have defended the relentless quest of the Trump family to profit from former president Donald Trump’s time in the White House. Hypocrisy might be the tribute vice pays to virtue, but Republicans stopped paying any tribute to virtue long ago. They sped right past hypocrisy to arrive at something entirely different.
Republicans are not characterizing their impeachment push against Biden as an attempt to bring strict ethical standards back to government. There’s no high-minded talk of integrity, moral rectitude or the solemn obligations of public service. That’s because they are in the midst of a years-long crusade to convince the public to not care about corruption.
That crusade is only partly about defending Trump, perhaps the most shamelessly corrupt president in U.S. history. He installed his laughably unqualified family members in White House positions. He spent a good amount of time in office at his various resorts, charging the Secret Service as much as $1,185 a night per room to stay there to protect him. His Washington hotel became a destination for anyone who wanted to put some money directly in his pocket; foreign governments spent millions of dollars there, as did a fleet of Republican candidates and party flunkies. Foreign governments also eagerly gave special favors to Trump’s businesses. His relentless advocacy for the government of Saudi Arabia while in office was followed by the Saudis giving son-in-law Jared Kushner $2 billion for his start-up private equity firm, even though the Saudis’ own investment advisers found Kushner’s operation “unsatisfactory in all aspects.”
And that doesn’t even get into the litany of Trump associates with flexible ethics, including multiple Cabinet members and a raft of cronies who faced their own scandals and criminal charges.
Were Republicans bothered by this orgy of self-dealing? They were not. In fact, judging by the myriad ways they have decimated the legal and normative standards to which public officials must abide, they were perfectly sincere when they insisted that Trump’s actions were nothing worse than what voters should expect of anyone in high office.
For instance, the GOP effort to remove nearly all restrictions on how much money corporations and the wealthy can give to candidates goes back decades. It had its greatest success with the Citizens United case, which opened the floodgates to a tidal wave of spending on campaigns. They also celebrated another Supreme Court case, McDonnell v. United States, which redefined what constituted an “official act,” ruling that the favors former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell did for donors who showered him with money and gifts while in office didn’t qualify as corruption.
Speaking of the Supreme Court, in recent weeks, reporters have exposed the extravagant largesse that billionaire Harlan Crow has lavished on Justice Clarence Thomas, which included not just luxury vacations but also paying the private-school tuition of a Thomas relative. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. has also taken advantage of billionaire-funded hospitality. These revelations were greeted by Republicans everywhere with either a shrug or a rush to defend the right-wing justices. How dare anyone impugn their character by claiming there’s something wrong with taking gifts from super-rich “friends” who have a deep interest in the decisions the court makes?
Given the GOP’s clear position on what ought to be expected of public officials at all levels, one might be tempted to label it the “pro-corruption” party. But it would be more accurate to say that its position is that we should stop worrying about corruption altogether.
So listen closely as Republicans offer their wild tales of President Biden’s alleged wrongdoing, spun from innuendo and outright lies. They’ll say Biden is “corrupt,” but they likely won’t say why corruption is bad. Because they don’t think it is.
But if any Republican said that out loud, the proper response would be to burst out laughing.
This isn’t just because Republicans have found no evidence that Biden is guilty of wrongdoing, despite the tireless efforts of multiple House committees. Nor is it because they have defended the relentless quest of the Trump family to profit from former president Donald Trump’s time in the White House. Hypocrisy might be the tribute vice pays to virtue, but Republicans stopped paying any tribute to virtue long ago. They sped right past hypocrisy to arrive at something entirely different.
Republicans are not characterizing their impeachment push against Biden as an attempt to bring strict ethical standards back to government. There’s no high-minded talk of integrity, moral rectitude or the solemn obligations of public service. That’s because they are in the midst of a years-long crusade to convince the public to not care about corruption.
That crusade is only partly about defending Trump, perhaps the most shamelessly corrupt president in U.S. history. He installed his laughably unqualified family members in White House positions. He spent a good amount of time in office at his various resorts, charging the Secret Service as much as $1,185 a night per room to stay there to protect him. His Washington hotel became a destination for anyone who wanted to put some money directly in his pocket; foreign governments spent millions of dollars there, as did a fleet of Republican candidates and party flunkies. Foreign governments also eagerly gave special favors to Trump’s businesses. His relentless advocacy for the government of Saudi Arabia while in office was followed by the Saudis giving son-in-law Jared Kushner $2 billion for his start-up private equity firm, even though the Saudis’ own investment advisers found Kushner’s operation “unsatisfactory in all aspects.”
And that doesn’t even get into the litany of Trump associates with flexible ethics, including multiple Cabinet members and a raft of cronies who faced their own scandals and criminal charges.
Were Republicans bothered by this orgy of self-dealing? They were not. In fact, judging by the myriad ways they have decimated the legal and normative standards to which public officials must abide, they were perfectly sincere when they insisted that Trump’s actions were nothing worse than what voters should expect of anyone in high office.
For instance, the GOP effort to remove nearly all restrictions on how much money corporations and the wealthy can give to candidates goes back decades. It had its greatest success with the Citizens United case, which opened the floodgates to a tidal wave of spending on campaigns. They also celebrated another Supreme Court case, McDonnell v. United States, which redefined what constituted an “official act,” ruling that the favors former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell did for donors who showered him with money and gifts while in office didn’t qualify as corruption.
Speaking of the Supreme Court, in recent weeks, reporters have exposed the extravagant largesse that billionaire Harlan Crow has lavished on Justice Clarence Thomas, which included not just luxury vacations but also paying the private-school tuition of a Thomas relative. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. has also taken advantage of billionaire-funded hospitality. These revelations were greeted by Republicans everywhere with either a shrug or a rush to defend the right-wing justices. How dare anyone impugn their character by claiming there’s something wrong with taking gifts from super-rich “friends” who have a deep interest in the decisions the court makes?
Given the GOP’s clear position on what ought to be expected of public officials at all levels, one might be tempted to label it the “pro-corruption” party. But it would be more accurate to say that its position is that we should stop worrying about corruption altogether.
So listen closely as Republicans offer their wild tales of President Biden’s alleged wrongdoing, spun from innuendo and outright lies. They’ll say Biden is “corrupt,” but they likely won’t say why corruption is bad. Because they don’t think it is.
