Compare news from two conservative Republicans yesterday-- Senator Bill Cassidy or Louisiana and top GOP legal beagle Ted Olson. Chances are you got your hopes up earlier in the week when Cassidy voted to allow the impeachment trial to proceed, something no one expected from a knee-jerk partisan like him. He was immediately rebuked by the Louisiana Republican Party and he let it leak yesterday that-- oops-- he's voting to let Trump walk away from the charges. That should surprise exactly no one. Cassidy, a gastroenterologist by trade, has never exhibited a moment of courage or independence in his political career, having been raised as a Democrat and not switching parties until it was expedient, after which he became a full-fledged Tea Party goon.
Ted Olson, once part of Reagan's Justice Department, later helping Bush-Cheney steal the 2000 election-- helping him win an appointment as Solicitor General-- had something to say that was more surprising yesterday. He told the National Law Journal that the Senate has overwhelming evidence to convict of inciting a deadly insurrection at the Capitol. "This is not just Jan 6. Trump has been attempting for weeks to convince the American public-- and duly elected and appointed election officials-- that the election was a fraud and was stolen from him, in the face of irrefutable evidence and numerous judicial opinions to the contrary. This was a constant and fraudulent effort to undermine the integrity of American institutions and processes. It culminated, of course, in the violence and lawlessness on Jan. 6... I haven’t resolved yet what I plan to do, but certainly do not plan to contribute financially to or support candidates or committees who do not pass the test of character presented by the Senate’s vote on the impeachment trial."
That's not an idle threat. Olson has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the NRSC, RNC, NRCC and to the Virginia Republican Party, as well as to scores of candidates across the country, often maxing out to right-wing candidates like Ron Johnson (R-WI), Tex Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), etc.