Posted on 12/31/2019 8:55:06 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The Senate Republican playbook should be put House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on mute and get this trial started. Pelosi and the Democrats have no say in the matter. They don’t. And by withholding the articles of impeachment against President Trump because they know it faces certain death in the Republican Senate creates a new constitutional crisis of its own. This isn’t about a fair trial. As Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel noted, a trial would only further degrade their position in the polls on this impeachment push. It was never popular from the start, and now it’s underwater nationally. It’s especially not popular in the key swing states that Democrats have to win in 2020. I think Democrats know this is a fiasco, the smart ones at least, but they made a 2018 promise to the base to impeach the president. They have to keep it. Strassel noted that Pelosi isn’t a scrub when it comes to political strategy; she can hang in there with McConnell. But the goal of this whole circus is to keep the idea of impeachment alive. It’s “rolling impeachment,” as Strassel noted. And it’s cancerous to constitutional order, but also the Senate GOP could enable it if they think the end goal is to nab a fair trial (via WSJ):
Republicans dismiss Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to transmit the impeachment articles to the Senate as a weak stunt. They do so at the peril of both the Constitution and President Trump. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may be a master tactician, but Mrs. Pelosi is no slouch.
[…]
How would it benefit Democrats for the Senate to conduct an efficient and solemn proceeding? The House inquiry was a farce, riddled with procedural gamesmanship and shifting definitions of “high crimes.” A serious Senate trial would only further highlight the weakness of the House case. It would also require Democratic presidential contenders including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar to abandon the stump and return to Washington for most of January, on the eve of the crucial Iowa caucuses—or else shirk their senatorial duty.
Mrs. Pelosi has understood from the start that the inevitable outcome was acquittal. There won’t be 20 Republican votes to remove Mr. Trump from office. So why hasten the president’s vindication? If the goal of this exercise all along was to damage Mr. Trump’s prospects for re-election, why wouldn’t Democrats want to hold an unconsummated impeachment over his head for as long as politically possible?
Think of it as “rolling” impeachment. Every day the Senate doesn’t hold a trial, Mrs. Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are free to argue that the process is rigged. They are already claiming that the Senate’s Republican “jurors” have abandoned impartiality, are actively working with Mr. Trump to cover up his crimes, and are afraid to hold a trial.
This bears no relation to reality and is the height of cheek given the House circus. But it’s fodder for the press corps and it may resonate with some voters. More important, it puts daily pressure on Senate Republican moderates to break with Mr. McConnell.
[…]
And as long as the Senate doesn’t hold a trial, Democrats can add additional “crimes” to their case against the president. House lawyers this week argued in federal court that former White House counsel Don McGahn must be forced to testify to the House. They told the court the House may “recommend new articles of impeachment” if Mr. McGahn’s testimony included evidence that the president obstructed special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
How long will this charade go on? As long as Democrats can get away with it.
“We have a pre-opinion,” Schumer said.
Pour one out for the “impartial juror” talking point. RIP. https://t.co/jlul5rrjjA— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) December 27, 2019
Now, as impeachment has dominated the news, the more unpopular it has become. If anything, Trump’s approval rating has increased and pushed the battleground states further out of reach. Now, Strassel noted the pressure on moderate GOP senators. There was a bite; Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)—who said she was “disturbed” by McConnell’s actions regarding handling this impeachment fiasco. Yet, she doesn’t hold 20 markers. Still, Democrats going all-in on this whole push damaging his re-election chances. It’s too late now. In the meantime, this unpopular push that’s seen as nakedly partisan and not in the name of the rule of law and institutional integrity, coupled with the looney left-wing 2020 agenda Democrats are putting out there—is only giving Trump a second term. As annoying as this whole circus is, on face value, it could be positive for Trump since the case is super weak. It all depends on whether the Senate Republicans want to deliver the headshot to this mess.
Democrats are why we can’t have Nice Things.
Time for a long series of “Rolling Indictments” of the Democrat crooks with arrests done Roger Stone style..
Except its not going to do any real good for improvement of Rat presidential prospects. The best result for her is to keep the Rat base energized, in-line to protect the Rat down ticket. I think it will fail & she won’t keep her speakership.
Pelosi is a verdict tease.
Pelosi reminds me of a bratty child who noisly soils her own diapers to get attention during the family dinner.
First, these pundits and politicians need to stop ascribing to Pelosi her great skills as a politician, leader, and strategist.
She is as dumb as dirt.
Second, the only democrat strategy now in play is to delay long enough to get 4 RINOs to vote with the democrats so that they can claim, in spite of failure to remove, that “a majority of the Senate voted to remove Trump”.
They already have three - Murkowski, Romney, and today, Collins.
There are a lot of potential No. 4s - Lee, Tillis, McSally to name 3.
Republicans only hope is two possible democrats voting present - Jones (AL) and Manchin (WV).
Immediate dismissal is the ONLY Constitutional response to this anti-American leftist horse crap.
Jones is up in 2020...don’t know about Manchin.
Manchin was just reelected in 2018.
McConnell needs to put an end to this by giving the House a date to turn over their impeachment articles and if they don’t hold a vote on whether or not to remove the President based upon what knowledge they do have from public sources and lack of official sources from the House. Per the Constitution the House has voted for impeachment. The President is impeached. The Speaker of the House has no Constitutional authority to withhold the Articles from the Senate or to dictate/negotiate how the Senate votes to dispose of the matter.
Pelosi will deliver the articles on January 7th.
A ballsy GOP Senate might consider a “rolling” trial. Instead of dismissing in 7 days, begin with calling Ole Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The when Joe refuses, let the courts enforce the subpoena even if it takes weeks or months to enforce.
Jones might as well vote to convict because no matter what, he’s out next November.
I predict a strong Republican win this time.
Trump voters aren’t staying home, for one thing.
And the majority conservatives of this state do not like democrats, for another.
Sad to say, the only democrat voting block in the state is African Americans. There’s only a handful of white college Millennials for the dems. I really wish Blacks would see the light and realize the dems do NOTHING for them.
How do you cover up something that you can’t find because it doesn’t exist?
It seems to me that proceeding with a trial anyway presents a danger of unintended consequences. Why do it? The evidence would favor Trump but the press wouldn't report it that way. Spend the time confirming more judges.
“withholding the articles of impeachment”
Aren’t these public knowledge (and available via the Congressional Record)?
I would expect that the Democrats (and Republicans) in the House knew what they were voting on.
Now, as impeachment has dominated the news,...
That no one is watching sand no one cares about except the deranged Dims. We on the other hand are just chomping on the bit to vote again this coming November.
For rational people the MAGA economy has dominated.
I think these are the right ones:
I think the democrats plan to dismiss all indictments of democrats in their conspiracy against the elected administration as vengeful acts for his impeachment.
Impeachment was premeditated.
Impeachment hasn’t actually dominated the news at all. It has pointed up the fact that certain media figures have vastly overestimated their influence and are covering their collective eyes hoping it all goes away. While it appears to be satisfying the True Believers to repeat the mantra “impeached President” it hasn’t swayed anyone else, and childish satisfaction doesn’t put anyone in the White House.
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