U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) had some things to say — such as “witch hunt” — on the Senate floor Wednesday about House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry about President Donald Trump.
Blackburn said that during a tele-town hall with Tennesseans, among many topics ranging from Asian Carp to nuclear power, one topic kept coming up.
Video of her remarks is available here.
“Now bear in mind, Tennesseans are very dismissive of the DC ‘shiny object’ story of the day … but yesterday’s news, that breathless race to make news, had Tennesseans talking,” she said.
That news was House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.
Blackburn pointed out that the drive to impeach Trump began before he was even president — in December 2016, before he took office, Vanity Fair published a story about how Senate Democrats wanted to “exploit allegations of conflicts of interest between President-elect Trump’s business dealings, and President Trump’s duties as President.”
Blackburn concluded, “Tennesseans, and the American people, want fairness, equal treatment, and justice, not a breathless revenge scheme orchestrated by a political party.”
Blackburn’s remarks supporting Trump are in line with a number of leading Tennessee Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Dr. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04), U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07), U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Manny Sethi and U.S. Senate candidate Bill Hagerty.
U.S. Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) and Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) have sided with fellow Democrats to call for the impeachment inquiry.
Blackburn’s full remarks remarks as prepared:
Thank you, Mister President.
Last night, I had the opportunity to invite 100,000 of my fellow Tennesseans to join a tele-town hall.
The discussion centered on a wide range of topics: nuclear power, gun rights, health care for our veterans, and even an invasive fish species known as the Asian Carp, that is affecting our beautiful rivers.
But one thing kept coming up—and I bet you can guess what it is.
Now bear in mind, Tennesseans are very dismissive of the DC “shiny object” story of the day—but yesterday’s breathless race to make news had them talking.
Yesterday, House Democrats, supported by their friends in the Senate, gathered to announce their intention to begin formal impeachment inquiries against President Donald Trump.
Now, as you can imagine, this struck a chord with my fellow Tennesseans. They may be far outside the Beltway bubble, but they’ve been keeping a close eye on what those Democrats have been up to the past three years.
Let me tell you, they’re not impressed.
From their perspective, yesterday’s announcement was the culmination of a three year witch hunt born of a grudge they’ve been holding against the President since their chosen candidate failed to win the 2016 election.
In December of 2016, before the President had even taken his oath of office, Vanity Fair published an article entitled, “Democrats are Paving the Way to Impeach Donald Trump”—and believe it or not, it wasn’t just clickbait!
The article details a bill Senate Democrats wanted to use to exploit allegations of conflicts of interest between President-elect Trump’s business dealings, and President Trump’s duties as President.
The bill was tailor-made to transform conflicts allegations into impeachable crimes.
Keep in mind this bill was conceived before President Trump became President Trump. It was the beginning of a mission toward impeachment, even if they had to fabricate the means to get there.
And let me tell you, they were determined to make it happen. The proof is in black and white.
In 2017, a group of House Democrats failed to muster enough political will within their own party to support a Resolution to impeach President Trump.
That same effort failed again in 2018.
And again in 2019.
Their efforts to use the Mueller Report to whip the nation into an impeachment frenzy also failed.
How frustrating that must have been for a party and a movement that all but promised they’d find a way to impeach the President, because they absolutely. Could. Not. Believe. He. Won.
The American people chose President Trump, and not the Democratic candidate—but that didn’t matter. Democrats vowed to take him down anyway.
They were going to make him pay a heavy price, by making him the victim of a campaign of personal destruction.
And now, conveniently, a year before the election, they’re indicating they’ve just about cracked it.
In November 2018, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave a statement to the Associated Press, saying, “We shouldn’t impeach the president for political reasons and we shouldn’t not impeach the president for political reasons.”
Well, let me tell you—for the west Tennesseans participating in that tele-town hall I mentioned earlier?
It was painfully obvious that Congressional Democrats had finally given up, and embraced politics as usual.
They see this for what it is: anger, vitriol, jealousy and spite.
They know that President Trump and a Republican-led House and Senate delivered much needed tax and regulatory relief, which was just what the American people wanted.
We are a nation built on the rule of law, and adherence to that law.
Tennesseans, and the American people, want fairness, equal treatment, and justice, not a breathless revenge scheme orchestrated by a political party.
I yield the floor.
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “Marsha Blackburn” by Marsha Blackburn.
