At the House impeachment inquiry hearings, perhaps the best imitation of the Sgt. Schultz character from "Hogan's Heroes," whose various catchphrases were "I see / I hear / I know nothing" when he clearly did, was retiring Texas Rep. Will Hurd. Hurd has crafted a persona during the Trump regime as being a very, very concerned voice from within the rotted out Republican / New Confederate Party. Coming from a district along the border with Mexico, Hurd played the sympathy card for Latino immigrants, knowing that his district mirrored that ethnicity. He even teamed up with Texas opportunist former Rep. Beto O'Rourke in a staged "road trip" to demonstrate bi-partisanship not long after divisive demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump was sworn in. Catnip for our broken Beltway media.
His "more out of sorrow than anger" performance in the impeachment hearings, however, was one for the big screen. With his serious, practiced image as a deep thinking moderate Republican with a matching face, he was a disappointment to some who expected him to break ranks with the likes of corrupt wingnuts Devin "Numbnuts" Nunes and Jim "Gym" Jordan. Instead, Hurd came up with this tripe:
"An impeachable offense should be compelling, overwhelmingly clear and unambiguous. And it's not something to be rushed or taken lightly. I have not heard evidence proving the president committed bribery or extortion." (our emphasis)Take a seat, Sgt. Schultz. He also called for testimony from dirt-seeker Rudy "Rudy Colludey" Giuliani and, of course, Hunter Biden, because Hurd is nothing if not a true tribalist.
Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman had an op-ed a couple of days ago explaining why these Republicans who are fleeing Congress can't bring themselves to separate from their cult leader. He writes:
"How much corruption, how much collusion with foreign powers and betrayal of the national interest will that party’s elected representatives stand for?Whether Hurd follows the retiring Rethug herd to K Street lobbying riches only time will tell. But the price of his cynical vote must have been high to have thrown in with the rest of the cult.
And the result of that test seems increasingly clear: There is no bottom. The inquiry hasn’t found a smoking gun; it has found what amounts to a smoking battery of artillery. Yet almost no partisan Republicans have turned on Trump and his high-crimes-and-misdemeanors collaborators. Why not?
The answer gets to the heart of what’s wrong with modern American politics: The G.O.P. is now a thoroughly corrupt party. Trump is a symptom, not the disease, and our democracy will remain under dire threat even if and when he’s gone. [snip]
There has been a wave of Republicans announcing retirements from the House, and there’s little question that some of these politicians are leaving because they’re disgusted with serving this administration. Yet almost none have said so explicitly, even though they won’t be facing any more primaries. What keeps them in line?
The answer is, follow the money.
What, after all, do retired officials do for a living? Many become lobbyists, and in an era of extreme polarization that means lobbying their own party. Being honest about why you quit would be bad for future business." (our emphasis)
(photo: Seriously?)
