This conversation is drawn from today’s Editors podcast.
Rich Lowry: So let’s go to you, Phil Klein. Give us percentage odds Republicans will impeach Joe Biden one way or the other — zero, nah, forget it, 100 percent, it’s a lock.
Phil Klein: I’d say about 70 percent that they’ll impeach him. Once this is in the air, just sort of the natural tendency in modern politics will be to just push them to that area. I think that McCarthy won’t have a choice.
Lowry: So Charlie, we got a 70 percent on the board.
Charlie Cooke: I think it is slightly lower, maybe 60–40, but it’s certainly above 50 percent.
Lowry: MBD?
Michael Brendan Dougherty: 65 percent.
Lowry: Yeah, I think we’re all circling the same area. I might say 60 or 65. Obviously, the only obstacle is that he can’t lose many votes. But the will of something like 95 percent of the caucus is — and the political logic of it is going to be to go ahead. And of course, you have Donald Trump really pressuring from the outside.
Related question, Phil, rate the Republican handling of the investigations into the Biden family influence peddling and finances from zero to ten. Zero, it’s been abysmal, ten, it’s been perfect.
Klein: I’d say probably eight. I think they’ve done a really good responsible job to this point.
Cooke: I might even go higher than that. I think it’s a nine. I don’t understand the impatience here. There is time. It’s important to get this right. Republicans always run up against serious headwinds whenever they make any accusations because those accusations are either ignored or downplayed or described as having been debunked. The GOP has put sensible and trustworthy and relatable people in charge of this and has ensured that it has not got too far out over its skis. I’m giving it a nine.
Lowry: MBD?
Dougherty: I’m giving it a six. I think they’ve done very well on holding their horses, they haven’t fired the shot too early. But, on the other side, I think people who live in the conservative press, a lot of people who tune into the Daily Wire or Newsmax or The Blaze every day, I think they’re already at like a 10 — Joe Biden is totally corrupt, he should be impeached. They’re baying for blood already. And I think that creates this political difficulty where now Trump can pressure the Republicans to, again, fire too early. So I think the investigation’s been good, but I’m not sure the political management of the scandal has been good enough.
Lowry: I’m where Phil is — I’m an eight. The subtraction of the two points is for the reasons you underline MBD: a little bit out over their skis, the impeachment talk I don’t think is great. But just in terms of the investigation and how much they’ve uncovered and how far they’ve gotten the ball down the road, it’s really extraordinary and they should be very proud of what they’ve done.