After two months of investigating Trump’s actions to pressure Ukraine into attacking his political opponent, Congress now enters its next phase of the impeachment process which adds more committees and more hearings.
No, they will not convict or remove Trump in the Senate. No one ever thought they would-the point is to do the right thing and impeach him in the House regardless.
I agree, but what concerns me is the possible "rebound effect", which would lead to the Republicans retaining control over the Senate. The importance of that cannot be overstated.
I hear ya Ian - but there will be a very public trial, and all this stuff will come out - plus stuff we haven't seen in public - so that's the X factor. Of course Occam's Razor has long said there's no way the McConnell senate will convict him. But we'll see. Senators were be on record. If their constituents are OK with that, then so be it. But it will be hung around their necks like Kavanaugh will be hung around Susan Collins'. That's my fever dream, anyway lol!
Ian, what would you have Democrats do? Ignore the misdeeds of a rogue “POTUS” put in power by 1/4 of the electorate with the help of foreign interference in our election process. Allow him to continue to misuse his ill-gotten authority, abuse his perceived enemies & tear apart every norm American Democracy has had since its founding? Avoidance is a poor strategy in battle & make no mistake this is a battle for America’s very soul.
No. What I am saying is that this will come at a political cost, and that cost may very well be control of the Senate and/or the Presidency. Republicans aren't changing their minds, which is what I expected. However, what is more concerning is that in so-called battleground/purple states, independent voters aren't changing their minds, either.
We can’t lose something we don’t already control, ie: control of the Senate. But we *can* fight. Rolling over has been a failing Democratic strategy for years. Personally I’m glad to see them moving in a new direction.
You're right; the Democrats don't control the Senate now, but if the past three years have taught us nothing, it is that the power to appoint and approve federal judges is paramount. We haven't seen the full effect yet of how the many Trump appointees to the federal bench will change this country in ways that we do not like, and we will likely not see it for several more years, but ask yourself this: Do you REALLY want to live in a country where abortion is once again outlawed (and if you don't think that this can happen in "blue states", think again because Federal Judges do not answer to local concerns/desires), there are no (or virtually none) environmental protections, and equal protection applies only if you are Caucasian and Christian? I mean these as serious questions, because the way I see it, that IS what is at stake here (with respect to control over the Senate). Moscow Mitch and his cronies have to be stopped, and a Pyrrhic victory by having the Orange Asscactus impeached by the House (and then not removed by the Senate) will result in them maintaining control over the Senate. That is a scary prospect in my mind.
From the Impeachment Report via Judd Legum’s Popular Information: “Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States—acting personally and through his agents within and outside of the U.S. government—solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.”
He got away with it in 2016 because Democrats allowed themselves to be blackmailed by #MoscowMitch we can NOT roll over & allow this to happen again without giving him/them a fight.
I don't disagree with a single thing that you've written, Amee, but again, I am really, really concerned that the whole impeachment trial will only result in a failure to convict in the Senate (I don't see 20 Republican Senators who will vote in favour of removal from office), it may end up guaranteeing that the Republicans retain control of the Senate after the next election, because even though the Republicans are defending far more seats than the Democrats in the next election, the most vulnerable Republican seats are in (at best) "purple states" (and one of the seats that the Democrats have to hold is Doug Jones' seat in Alabama, and that will be a very tough task, especially since Jeff Sessions is running again). Truly, that would be a complete disaster for anyone who has any hope of restoring some balance to the Federal Court system. The Orange Asscactus has already appointed more federal judges than any other President in recent memory. Giving him at least two more years to appoint even more judges would be an unmitigated disaster.
I wish there were enough Republican's in the Senate that have a pair to at least make the vote close, like as close as Clinton's trial was. Do you see this backfiring on the Dems? I'm a novice, obviously, about this stuff, curious of your thoughts on that question though.
“..forces several presidential candidates to chose(sic) between their jobs in the Senate or the campaign trail”
Choose between?! Their duly elected positions in the Senate ARE their jobs, the campaign trail is a choice that should take a back seat if necessary. It’s called priorities.
No, they will not convict or remove Trump in the Senate. No one ever thought they would-the point is to do the right thing and impeach him in the House regardless.
Those who have taken their oath seriously had no choice.
I agree, but what concerns me is the possible "rebound effect", which would lead to the Republicans retaining control over the Senate. The importance of that cannot be overstated.
I hear ya Ian - but there will be a very public trial, and all this stuff will come out - plus stuff we haven't seen in public - so that's the X factor. Of course Occam's Razor has long said there's no way the McConnell senate will convict him. But we'll see. Senators were be on record. If their constituents are OK with that, then so be it. But it will be hung around their necks like Kavanaugh will be hung around Susan Collins'. That's my fever dream, anyway lol!
Ian, what would you have Democrats do? Ignore the misdeeds of a rogue “POTUS” put in power by 1/4 of the electorate with the help of foreign interference in our election process. Allow him to continue to misuse his ill-gotten authority, abuse his perceived enemies & tear apart every norm American Democracy has had since its founding? Avoidance is a poor strategy in battle & make no mistake this is a battle for America’s very soul.
No. What I am saying is that this will come at a political cost, and that cost may very well be control of the Senate and/or the Presidency. Republicans aren't changing their minds, which is what I expected. However, what is more concerning is that in so-called battleground/purple states, independent voters aren't changing their minds, either.
We can’t lose something we don’t already control, ie: control of the Senate. But we *can* fight. Rolling over has been a failing Democratic strategy for years. Personally I’m glad to see them moving in a new direction.
You're right; the Democrats don't control the Senate now, but if the past three years have taught us nothing, it is that the power to appoint and approve federal judges is paramount. We haven't seen the full effect yet of how the many Trump appointees to the federal bench will change this country in ways that we do not like, and we will likely not see it for several more years, but ask yourself this: Do you REALLY want to live in a country where abortion is once again outlawed (and if you don't think that this can happen in "blue states", think again because Federal Judges do not answer to local concerns/desires), there are no (or virtually none) environmental protections, and equal protection applies only if you are Caucasian and Christian? I mean these as serious questions, because the way I see it, that IS what is at stake here (with respect to control over the Senate). Moscow Mitch and his cronies have to be stopped, and a Pyrrhic victory by having the Orange Asscactus impeached by the House (and then not removed by the Senate) will result in them maintaining control over the Senate. That is a scary prospect in my mind.
From the Impeachment Report via Judd Legum’s Popular Information: “Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States—acting personally and through his agents within and outside of the U.S. government—solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.”
He got away with it in 2016 because Democrats allowed themselves to be blackmailed by #MoscowMitch we can NOT roll over & allow this to happen again without giving him/them a fight.
I don't disagree with a single thing that you've written, Amee, but again, I am really, really concerned that the whole impeachment trial will only result in a failure to convict in the Senate (I don't see 20 Republican Senators who will vote in favour of removal from office), it may end up guaranteeing that the Republicans retain control of the Senate after the next election, because even though the Republicans are defending far more seats than the Democrats in the next election, the most vulnerable Republican seats are in (at best) "purple states" (and one of the seats that the Democrats have to hold is Doug Jones' seat in Alabama, and that will be a very tough task, especially since Jeff Sessions is running again). Truly, that would be a complete disaster for anyone who has any hope of restoring some balance to the Federal Court system. The Orange Asscactus has already appointed more federal judges than any other President in recent memory. Giving him at least two more years to appoint even more judges would be an unmitigated disaster.
This morning at NATO he said, “Someone picked an orange out of the fridge and said,’Let’s impeach!’”
I wish there were enough Republican's in the Senate that have a pair to at least make the vote close, like as close as Clinton's trial was. Do you see this backfiring on the Dems? I'm a novice, obviously, about this stuff, curious of your thoughts on that question though.
“..forces several presidential candidates to chose(sic) between their jobs in the Senate or the campaign trail”
Choose between?! Their duly elected positions in the Senate ARE their jobs, the campaign trail is a choice that should take a back seat if necessary. It’s called priorities.