Anyone Think Putin-Gate And Comey's Firing Might Be An Issue In The 2018 Midterms?

Yesterday, conservatives Barbara Comstock (R-VA), Erik Paulsen (R-MN) and Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) backed Justin Amash's and Walter Jones' demands for an independent investigation into Putin-Gate. Amash and Jones are in red Trump districts and acted out of principle and patriotism. You can decide for yourself what Comstock-- whose district went for Hillary 52.2-42.2%-- and Curbelo-- whose district went for Hillary by an even great margin: 56.7-40.6%-- and Paulsen-- whose district went for Clinton 50.8-41.4%-- had as motivations. I suspect that the dam is going to break very soon in terms of congressional Republicans-- particularly House Republicans in swing districts Hillary won-- getting behind the very popular idea of an independent investigation that neither Trump nor Regime lackeys like McConnell, Ryan nor Sessions can control. But I sincerely doubt that inveterate Trump loyalists such as Darrell Issa, John Culberson or Pete Roskam-- despite each being in a district Hillary won with a nice hefty margin-- will ever break with Trump.

Issa's Orange and San Diego county district voted against Trump 50.7% to 43.2% and gave Issa the political scare of his life, reelecting him by a tiny handful of votes against newcomer Dog Applegate. This year Applegate is back to finish the job he started in 2016. There was a similar result in the suburban district west of Chicago (IL-06) where Hillary bested Trump 50.2% to 43.2%, a district, by the way, that Romney had won against Obama by over 8 points. The DCCC, as usual, had refused to challenge Roskam in 2016. This year progressive Democrat Geoff Petzel isn't waiting around for the DCCC. He's running a strong grassroots campaign against Roskam-- and Trump.

Yesterday, Geoff told us he was "shocked by the Comey firing" and he explained why:

The firing of FBI Director James Comey may represent the worst action of the Trump Administration. Yes, worse than the refugee ban, the destruction of healthcare and rollback of our environmental laws. The Comey firing represents the worst of Trump's actions because it shows a blatant disregard for the rule of law and threatens the very essence of our fragile democracy. Regardless of my personal thoughts about James Comey, it was highly inappropriate for an American President to fire the man leading an investigation into his campaign and associates. In fact, what Donald Trump did puts him at the same level as a third world dictator.

I learned of the firing as I prepared to enter a campaign rally in my district and had the opportunity to discuss it with my audience. For the first time in the campaign I think I am viewing the 2018 election differently. There has never been a doubt in my mind that the 2018 election is important-- the most important election of my generation. It may determine the fate of healthcare for millions and impact American lives for generations. But, tonight for the first time, I realized that when I am elected with a new Democratic House in 2018, I may be faced with the grim task of participating in the impeachment of President Trump. And that thought went from unlikely to very possible this evening.

In my mind, the decision to fire the FBI Director was an admission of guilt. I believe the White House is scrambling to cover up a mess. The mess will include staffers and campaign participants at least, and the President himself may be implicated in the most serious scenario. Either way, a huge cover up is going on. As we have seen, Donald Trump isn’t the smartest guy in the room. I assume he is in a panic over the investigation, is firing Comey to cover up the mess and couldn’t clearly see the political implications of his decision because he is so blinded by the investigation and what it may reveal. And it’s not just the fact that Comey was fired-- he was fired while he was away from the office and told he would not allowed back into his office to retrieve his personal belongings. Is it possible they didn’t want him to access files or evidence of the Trump corruption?

I am fortunate enough to have been in court with the Justice Department-- although I was suing the government and they were attempting to protect the government's mismanagement and corruption. I have always believed that the career people like Sally Yates and thousands of others are dedicated public servants who do their job honorably and with little recognition. These people share a concern for doing the right and just thing and upholding the laws of this nation. When our nation's leader fires Sally Yates several days after she informs White House Counsel about possible corruption and then fires the head of the FBI, it shows a disregard for the rule of law, a disrespect for the people of our nation and puts our democracy at risk.

I have an immense respect for our institutions and our democracy including the Office of the President. The possible and increasingly likely corruption and collusion with Russian officials must break through politics. With our Democracy at risk of a very real constitutional crisis we must demand an independent prosecutor and hold President Trump accountable for his campaigns ties to Russia. This is bigger than Trump, bigger than party-- this is about America and her legitimacy as a nation. As we look to 2018 it is critical we elect serious candidates who respect our laws and institutions and will put country ahead of all others.

Mark Salter, an Iowa Republican, is best known as a long-time top McCain aide

I want to add just one more point. The once prohibitively red seat in the suburbs north of Atlanta (GA-06) has it's runoff election between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel on June 20th. Despite a GOP registration advantage and immense sums of money being laundered into the district from right-wing billionaires via Paul Ryan's shady SuperPAC, polling shows the race as a dead-heat. After Ossoff tweeted Tuesday night that "there should be bipartisan support for a special prosecutor to investigate Russian interference," Handel decided to show what an utter rubber stamp she would be in Congress, applauding Trump’s decision to fire Comey, saying in a statement yesterday that his ouster was "probably overdue."

Her support for the president’s stunning move to fire Comey came a day after her opponent in the 6th District runoff, Democrat Jon Ossoff, called for a special prosecutor to “investigate Russian interference” in last year’s vote.

...Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, sought to sidestep Trump’s controversies throughout her campaign for the seat. But since her No. 2 finish in the April 18 vote, she has more aggressively embraced the president, who has assailed Ossoff in tweets and hosted a fundraiser for her.

Democrats hope Comey’s firing will spark more support for a probe of Trump’s ties to Russia and give them an advantage in Georgia’s special election, considered a must-win for Republicans. The race for the suburban district, for decades held by the GOP, has become the nation’s premier 2017 political contest.

Other Georgia Democrats quickly pounced on Comey’s firing. Rep. Hank Johnson, Ossoff’s mentor and former boss, said the timing suggests “an effort to cover up wrongdoing.” Fulton County Commission chair John Eaves, a candidate for Atlanta mayor, said it “reeks of tyranny, not democracy” and labeled it Watergate 2.0.

And Democratic Party of Georgia head DuBose Porter invoked Trump’s firing of Sally Yates, a former Georgia prosecutor who was briefly the acting U.S. Attorney General, in condemning Trump’s decision and echoing the calls for a special prosecutor.

“Our national security is at stake and these demands must be met immediately,” he said. “We cannot trust Donald Trump to investigate himself. We just cannot trust Donald Trump.”

Handel was among the first prominent Georgia Republicans to comment on Comey’s firing. Most of the state’s GOP establishment had no public comment on the development in the hours after it was announced.

...The decision led to widespread bipartisan criticism in Washington. Several GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, said they support an independent inquiry into Russia’s ties to Trump’s campaign. And Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, suggested Trump fired Comey as part of a cover-up.