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Party over Country?



On September 24th, 2019, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that the House would begin an impeachment inquiry into the conduct of the President of the United States, for the third time in history. This announcement stemmed from allegations that the President of the United States pressured the President of Ukraine to get compromising dirt on his main political rival, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden. Since that day in late September, the media narrative has revolved around the conduct of President Trump, and how his actions undeniably point towards impeachable offenses. Furthermore, President Trump has been accused of potentially impeachable offenses by Democrats since his term as President began, and certainly since the release of the redacted Mueller Report. Democrats in Congress widely favor the impeachment inquiry, as does the general American public. As of now, there are no current Congressional Republicans who support the impeachment inquiry. A handful of former Republican members of Congress and politicians support the inquiry, such as former U.S. Representative Justin Amash. When faced with legally irrefutable evidence that the President of the United States has committed impeachable offenses, why do Republicans currently serving in Congress still oppose the inquiry?

Republican opposition to the impeachment inquiry can be attributed to the people that lend them their power in the first place; the Republican constituency. According to the Adler textbook, “-a member’s constituents are the citizens in the geographic unit that she represents.” (Adler et al, 80) In terms of the Republican party at large, their constituency is the entire Republican base of voters. The Republican base is fiercely pro-Trump as of right now. According to a poll conducted by The Hill, a news organization that covers the United States Congress, Trump’s approval rating among Republican voters is hovering at about 79%. In comparison, the table shown below shows that President Trump’s approval rating among all registered voters is hovering in the mid 40% region. This is a stark contrast to Mr. Trump’s approval rating among fellow Republicans.

President Trump’s strong support among Republicans in polls could be attributed to the fact that many Republicans who felt alienated by Trump winning have since left the party, so that the general base of the Republican party is fiercely pro-Trump in polls, in contrast to the actual reality of his support amongst all Republicans. Furthermore, Republicans do not support the impeachment inquiry because their primary constituency does not support the inquiry. According to the Adler textbook, the primary constituency is a constituency that, “-represents the portion of the reelection constituency that actively supports the member(s) of Congress.” (Adler et al, 82) These primary constituents are the most active supporters of politicians. They are the individuals who vote in the primaries, donate their money, and volunteer their time to assist the politicians on the campaign trail. These voters strongly support President Trump, and the Republican Party cannot lose these supporters, so in turn, Congressional Republicans cannot realistically support the inquiry without endangering their prospects for reelection, or for the political security of their party.

This system within Legislative politics has created a barrier for progress within the United States. Throughout Donald Trump’s presidency, it has been widely speculated, rumored, and assessed that many Congressional Republicans personally disapprove of Trump’s conduct, yet their voting does not reflect their personal views and morals. This is a fundamental issue within our current political system, as politicians rely heavily on their reelection prospects in nearly every decision they make. This is a systematic problem within our country, not a problem of the Republican Party. Possible solutions to this problem of representation include imposing term limits on members of Congress, and removing the influence of money from the political process.

The United States is currently experiencing a crisis of accountability. The President of the United States is actively attempting to rig our election process, with the aid of foreign nations and governments. One side of the aisle acknowledges this blatant abuse of power, and the other is complicit in their inaction. Congressional Republicans still support the President amongst all the controversies, blatantly illegal actions, and political turmoil. The system is to blame.




Works Cited:

Manchester, Julia. “Polls Show Trump Approval Rating Softening among GOP, Independents.” TheHill, 27 Feb. 2019, thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/431868-polls-show-trumps-approval-softening-among-gop-independents.

Silver, Nate. “How Popular Is Donald Trump?” FiveThirtyEight, 13 Oct. 2019, projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/.

Adler, E. Scott, et al. The United States Congress. W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.

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