Republican and ex-Dem senator agree impeachment partisanship hurting the country: 'We can't go on like this
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican Ed Rollins and former Democratic New Jersey Senator Robert Torricelli agreed Thursday that the partisanship seen during the impeachment process can no longer stand.
Appearing on "America's Newsroom's" A-Team with Trump 2020 Senior Legal Adviser Jenna Rives and hosts Bill Hemmer and Sandra Smith, the pair called for a reset as the two articles of impeachment against President Trump move to the Senate.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I thought it was a bad day for the country as someone who has been around for a long time," said Rollins. "And, it wasn't a pretty picture. It wasn't a nice thing. I'm not throwing the blame either way."
That said, Rollins added that he was pleased the Republicans have really "risen to the occasion" to defend the president and believes that the Senate will do the same.
"I don't think [there are] any crimes; I don't think there's any new evidence. My sense is that the Senate rule will basically be: no crimes, no hearings," he told the roundtable.
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"Once in a lifetime, unusual things will happen: I agree with what Ed said," Torricelli joked.
"I worry about the country," he said. "I felt better this morning in that leaving some of the partisanship aside, I thought Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer's statements were both thoughtful and reflected, indeed, on what the role of the Senate is: to cool the passions, look dispassionately at the facts, and come to some judgment. And then, send this to the American people for the 2020 election."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"When the last word has been said in the Congress, though, here's my hope, Ed. We can't go on like this," he lamented.
"Absolutely not," Rollins agreed.
"Americans are often confused about the source of our strength and our prosperity," Torricelli continued. "One of the foundations of America's success has been political stability. And we went 220 years with one impeachment of Andrew Johnson."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I'd like to see us go another 220 without revisiting this moment again -- whether you're a Democrat or a Republican," he said.
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He told the panel that America is now in a situation where "the temptation of a Republican Congress with a Democratic president to repeat these facts is going to be overwhelming," and urged the House and the Senate independently to hold hearings on standards of impeachment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You don't think you have a stake in this? You don't think this matters to you?" he asked. "Try having American prosperity and American freedoms in a government that is not stable and cannot function."