Democrats are "congratulating themselves" for their latest "crusade" to impeach President Donald Trump, but "impeachment is a loser" and the party will suffer, former presidential adviser Karl Rove wrote in The Wall Street Journal.
"House Democrats are on a high today, congratulating themselves on their new crusade," Rove, the deputy chief of staff for President George W. Bush, concluded. "They'll soon realize the grim truth that impeachment is a loser of an issue — and that they will suffer political casualties for going down this road."
As much as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., might now muster 218 votes for articles of impeachment, the Senate is not going to vote to remove President Trump from office on this.
"The president won't be forced from the White House even if Mrs. Pelosi finds 218 votes for impeachment," Rove wrote. "Instead we would likely see a repeat of what happened to Bill Clinton: the House votes to impeach and the Senate falls well short of the two-thirds majority required to remove him."
Rove argued the transcript of President Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "undermines Mrs. Pelosi's claim (made after the transcript's release but before she had read it) that Mr. Trump 'asked a foreign government to help him in his political campaign at the expense of our national security.'"
"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez enthuses that pursuing impeachment 'puts the party in a new direction' – that may be true, but other Democrats will likely be hurt during this political firefight, some of them dangerously so," Rove wrote.
First and foremost, former Vice President Joe Biden's "lecturing the Ukrainians about corruption" is going to subject him to the scrutiny heaped on President Trump, according to Rove.
"Growing knowledge of this situation, certain to emerge during any impeachment inquiry, could doom the senior Mr. Biden’s presidential hopes," Rove wrote.
"Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Adam Schiff could also come to regret recent comments," added Rove, who called their claims "irresponsible" and "hypocritical."
Then, per Rove, "the most likely Democratic casualties at the polls will be moderates, not Democrats from safe, left-leaning districts, leaving Mrs. Pelosi to preside over a more rambunctious caucus, even if she retains the House majority."
"And yet Mrs. Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry, despite lacking the 218 votes that previous impeachment efforts needed to proceed formally," Rove wrote. "This was an act of weakness — surrendering to pressure from inside the House Democratic caucus — not strength."