Donald Russia, Donald Beijing

"China, if you're listening...."

This occurred to Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker, Rachel Bade, and Colby Itkowitz when they wrote

President Trump on Thursday publicly urged China to investigate Democratic challenger Joe Biden, a new request that a foreign government assist his reelection campaign adding to the extraordinary pattern of conduct at the center of a fast-accelerating impeachment inquiry.

With his brazen and direct appeal to the Chinese, delivered before journalists assembled on the South Lawn of the White House, Trump seemed to make a mockery of the charge that he abused the power of his office by pressing his Ukrainian counterpart to examine unfounded allegations of corruption by Biden and his son Hunter.

Trump’s plea to China for an investigation into the Bidens came almost immediately after he addressed his acrimonious trade war with China. “I have a lot of options on China,” Trump warned, “but if they don’t do what we want, we have tremendous power.”

In case we missed the 1,728 previous hints, we now know what Donald Trump means when he says "we," and it rhymes with "he."

We know also why President Trump has embarked on a trade war with mainland China. It has nothing to do with the USA, and everything to do with Trump family businesses and with inflicting pain, the latter the cornerstone of his immigration policy. Tariffs imposed by Washington may or may not help the USA but they certainly harm the other nation.

One veteran journalist and neo-con does not want the Stepford Republicans to get a free pass for encouraging the dismantling of our national sovereignty:

I think the assumption going forward is every R who has not spoken up supports letting foreign countries determine our elections. Dems should campaign that way and let the R's deny it

— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) October 4, 2019

Notwithstanding the shamelessness of many congressional Republicans, this would at least put on the spot the junior senator from- as Rachel Maddow would put- "the great state of" Utah.

After 70 years in power, the Chinese Communist Party continues a relentless campaign of brutal repression and censorship. An authoritarian China is perhaps the single greatest threat to freedom around the world. pic.twitter.com/WxwSDfL2b9

— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) October 1, 2019

Confronting Romney with Donald Trump's effort to conspire with China would not necessarily make him the first GOP member of the US Congress (aside from Justin Amash) to break with the President.  But criticizing mainland China (a sure loser with the media, but so be it) would place the Republican Party'ss 2012 presidential nominee in a difficult position, as well as placing Trump's wheeling-dealing into context.

That is part of what impeachment is all about. Conviction in the Senate is unlikely, albeit not the impossible task it once was thought to be by all the geniuses on cable television. However, it would force Republican Representatives, and Republican Senators if Mitch McConnell allowed a trial and vote, into a no-win situation.

It also would make abundantly clear that President Trump would without a thought of regret sell out his own country- to Vladimir Putin's Russia, of course, but also to Xi Jin Ping's Communist China.

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