Too many good reasons to impeach, but he won’t

This is one of the last cyberspaces on earth where you would expect to find a video of Kevin McCarthy, California Republican and Minority Leader in the House. But here is his speech on impeachment today:

McCarthy is clear that the attack on the Capitol was undemocratic, violent, and criminal, aimed at interrupting the constitutionally required certification of Electoral College votes. He states there is no evidence of left-wing Antifa involvement. He says the President bears responsibility for the attack on the Capitol, and criticizes his failure to try to stop it. He says Joe Biden won the election and will be sworn in as President next week. To all of that I say: yes.

His main complaint is that no investigation has been conducted nor hearings held, though the facts adduced in the article of impeachment are all well-known and public. He claims a vote to impeach would further divide the nation, even though he knows that half dozen, or maybe more, Republicans will vote in favor of impeachment, as will the entire majority caucus. Instead of impeachment, he prefers a fact-finding commission and a censure resolution, neither of which he can convince Democrats to vote for.

The weight of the arguments in the two previous paragraphs weighs in favor of impeachment. McCarthy nevertheless is leading the House Republican charge against it, including false allegations from members of his own caucus that Biden did not win and that the Democrats advocated violence during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

In conclusion, McCarthy calls for an end to polarization, making reference to the fraught transition from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson in 1801. But he ignores the fact that Adams conceded, which Trump has not. He also ignores the fact that President-elect Biden has, like Jefferson, asked his supporters to put aside division and preached forgiveness. Trump has ignored that appeal.

McCarthy wants unity. I know where he can find it: in a vote, based on the arguments he presents, in favor of impeachment.