Trump Derangement Syndrome! It’s everywhere! Not among Democrats, but among Republicans! Yes, it’s dismaying when “your president” acts like a two-year-old—because he is a two-year-old! So what’s a pundit to do?
Well, “I know you are but what am I?” seems to be what may be called the “Ramesh Ponnuru defense”. Ramesh, writing in the National Review, wants to know what liberal big mouths think conservatives are supposed to do when El Caudillo takes another Twitter dump:
“Is Senator Sasse supposed to impeach Trump over his tweets? That’s what some respondents suggested. I am sorry to say that it seems necessary to point out that this response is insane. If it were sane, it would mean that none of the criticisms of Trump made by Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer should be taken seriously, either, since they haven’t declared for impeachment either.”
For one thing, Ramesh, a senator can’t “impeach” anyone. Only the House of Representatives can impeach, and they can only impeach members of the executive and judicial branches of the federal government. If your last sentence means “if it were ‘sane’ to suggest impeaching Trump for his tweets, then Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Schumer aren’t really upset by the president’s tweets, because they aren’t calling for his impeachment,” which, though not quite “insane”, strikes me as willfully tendentious. I am sorry to say that it seems necessary to point out that Mr. Ponnuru knows very well that his party’s president has a character entirely unworthy of public office of any sort, much less the presidency, but simply lacks the courage to say so. Which kind of makes Mr. Ponnuru Donald’s bitch.
