A short list.
- Public opinion doesn’t favor impeachment of Trump at this point.
- If Trump is impeached, there is essentially 0% chance of the Senate voting to remove him from office.
- Running against Pence in 2020 would be substantially harder than running against Trump.
- The number one achievable political goal at this point, for the health of the country and the marginalized people within it, has to be Republicans losing control of as many governmental bodies as possible, starting with the executive branch but including Congress.
- A small number of past Representatives who have voted to impeach have lost their seats at least in part because of these votes.
- Many of Trump’s most damning crimes from an impeachment perspective involve acts that would be legal if he were a private citizen and live in an area of law few people other than specialists understand.
- Impeachment proceedings will be viewed by some moderate/independent voters as a partisan act by Democrats.
- Right-wing media, corporate and independent, would use impeachment proceedings to attack Democrats, often dishonestly, and there is a large segment of the voting population that only trusts these outlets.
- The administration’s response to impeachment proceedings would provoke multiple constitutional crises of various sizes under an untested, very partisan Supreme Court.
- Most Democrats in the House who haven’t come out in favor of impeachment are considering some or all of these factors and are right to do so carefully.
- Even given all this, it’s critical for the survival of our constitutional system and many, many people that we move to impeach.
Another bullet point:
If Trump were removed from office, Pence would become president. Pence would be far more effective at instituting his policies, and his policies include the elimination of a number of marginalized groups (e.g., LGBT) and turning back all the gains that feminism has made in the past 50+ years.
As someone who is in the LGBT group and living as a woman, I fear for my safety and even my life if that happens.
Perhaps if the “lame stream media” could be moved to actually do their job, rather than tippi-toeing around all the issues, this country would actually wake up. The country mostly believes the Mueller report is “nothing to see here,” that all the corruption isn’t happening, the constant lying is harmless, that he really has a plan and it will benefit us rather than him, and any allegations of treason are over-reactions by only partisan Democrats.
If we don’t move to impeach, we’re accepting all this as legal, moral, smart, and in every way, OK. How an we possibly not impeach?
Imagine a world with Trump as president for another 4 years. Impeachment increases the likelihood of his re-election. Why? Nothing happens at the end of this show. The house finds reason to charge him, the Senate does a quickie vote of and he’s not guilty. He know has control of the narrative. People like my step-father who don’t like him, now feel democrats wasted time a nd added to the government dysfunction. He rails about this fact that Dems blocked efforts to help people. He wins again.
Sure, I would love to say we did the right thing by our Constitution, but what shape is our country, democracy, and Constitution in come 2024? That’s another 4 years of me living in fear for the safety of my trans-daughter, seeing my DACA colleagues fret over their future, my African-American friends sorry over the safety of their young children, and my environment degraded.
The real morality at this time is to attempt to legislate and enact laws that help people, mitigate Trump where we can. The moral high ground becomes, we tried to help Americans of modest means, but Trump and McConnell are the barriers. Instead, democrats get to own the title of “do nothing.” Check & Mate. Trumps wins.
I understand feeling like Trump wins no matter what. After all, a lot of people told us he could never get elected. But I agree with Amanda Marcotte on this.
What exactly do you agree with? 2016 was hardly a fluke? Trump had polished off a slew of well-seasoned and financed Republican opponents during the year. He was never going to lose to Hillary Clinton in the south and the party ignored key states in other regions. Barring some miracle, he will not be convicted by the Senate and that will “validate” his assertions of a witch-hunt. Richard Nixon resigned because the House and Senate were controlled by the Democratic party. Additionally, the idea of “shaken trust” was new. Today, it’s common place. What he does shocks no one.
I think the Democrats have settled on a faulty option. You made great arguments for why it shouldn’t happen and then defaulted to a high-minded reason to move forward opposite to your argument. Sure, if it all goes awry, at least we can feel good about our moral play, Nero-style.
But it’s always easier to thump one’s chest than to actually do work – in this case legislate in a manner that paints Trump into a corner he can’t get out of. That requires genius, creativity and commitment my party doesn’t seems capable of.
I’d pray I’m wrong….but that is a worthless endeavor. Keep on writing…I’m enjoying the blog.