No more witnesses should be called as a matter of principle. The Senate's job is not to fix a bungled House impeachment or turn a slipshod referral into an open-ended political fishing expedition. Teach the House that it needs to get this right on the first try, or don't bother.
That's a really important principle, on a bipartisan basis. Remember the ridiculous Democrat claims to be somber and reluctant about voting for impeachment? They SHOULD be somber and reluctant. We can only make them feel that way by refusing to let the Senate fix their hackwork.
There SHOULD be an enormous political price to pay if a majority party sends shoddy impeachment work over to the Senate and it dies. That will teach both parties not to do what the Democrats did here. That is a VITALLY important lesson for both parties to absorb.
There shouldn't any games played in the House, no vague charges to be hashed out later in political arguments, no cute little schemes to set up a weak impeachment referral so you can complain until the end of time about the other party unfairly killing it in the Senate.
The House should know this is it: you get one shot, and the Senate will not consider anything except what you send over, so you have to get it right. And if your case is weak or ambiguous, you shouldn't just toss it over like a grenade and hope the Senate pulls the pin.
The Senate isn't really shifting toward ending this farce on principle; it's shifting because Dems are slowly realizing they have a lot to lose by pushing hard for more witnesses, and not much prospect of gain. Bolton might be embarrassing to Trump, but he won't be that damaging.
Meanwhile, Repubs can do very real and lasting damage to Dems with the witnesses they would call, and not just the Bidens. I think every savvy Dem learned yesterday that putting Adam Schiff under oath to answer tough questions is a REALLY bad idea.
But I'd rather end this on principle than political calculations, no matter which side those calculations favor. Send the strongest possible message that the Senate will never do anything but carefully weigh what the House sends over. No fishing expeditions, no games. /end
