I think a lot of us thought that the GOP sold its soul for short-term gains and encouraging the sins of the masses.
Now we are setting ourselves up for a second experiment about how the dominant party reacts when its party leader, now President, will get treated in corruption scandals and criminal matters. The Johnson administration was unique in that Johnson was part of the majority party, but almost entirely distanced from it and seen as a member purely by desperate circumstance. The House, therefore, had no true compulsion to keep in the good graces of Johnson and his base, what it were. Therefore, when Johnson went toe-to-toe with the Republican Party in the House and Senate, he was treated as if a member of the other party and they successfully neutralized his administration.
With Nixon, the President's party was in a compromised position in the legislative branch. Last night, for the hell of it, I decided to watch an old Firing Line episode with William Buckley's brother, Senator James Buckley. Senator Buckley was in a unique position as being a strong advocate for the President's resignation in the midst of Watergate. In this exchange, which was wonderful, Senator Buckley had to discuss his controversial move, and it underlined that his patriotism, as it were, was not viewed favorably among the conservative movement because Nixon was their guy---even if Nixon was seen as not much of a doctrinaire movement conservative (something that ought to strike contemporary viewers as noteworthy, given the current office holder). They had come to argue, basically, that the Republican legislators had eventually grew to embody their role and step in when the must. Thinking about it through contemporary lenses, I couldn't help but think that was largely because they hadn't had the same position that they do now and if they had, Nixon may very well have gotten away with it all.
It's a good reminder that each potential impeachment scenario is going to have substantially unique political environments that will shape the course of events.
