Post by Old Badger on May 6, 2019 23:15:30 GMT -5
Some Democrats and lefties have been complaining that the Democrats are not being aggressive enough in moving toward impeaching Donald Trump. Implicitly, they want something like the GOP's unsuccessful impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998. But the Dems actually are taking another route, one that ultimately proved successful:
"Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has placed House Democrats on the same path that Congress took with President Richard M. Nixon in the early 1970s — a path that ultimately led to his resignation on the eve of being impeached. Today, Pelosi is supporting the ongoing House Judiciary Committee investigation into President Donald Trump and the Mueller report. Left unsaid is that this is similar to the kind of investigation that would take place if the panel were conducting a formal impeachment proceeding...
"On March 4, the House Judiciary Committee announced an investigation 'into the alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption and other abuses of power by President Trump, his associates, and members of his Administration.' This is historically parallel to what the Senate did on Feb. 7, 1973, when it created the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, also known as the Senate Watergate Committee, to investigate the extent to which 'illegal, improper or unethical activities' occurred in the 1972 presidential campaign and election...
"By pursuing an in-depth investigation and televised hearings into Trump’s wrongdoing, the House Judiciary Committee has undertaken a mission to ensure that the American people are educated by a visualized presentation about Trump’s malfeasance. If the committee were to instead immediately undertake a formal impeachment proceeding, the national debate would focus on the conclusory decision about whether to impeach Trump — at a time when national polls indicate the American people do not support impeachment." link
I've been trying to explain to people for months that what the Dems are doing is laying a proper foundation for possible impeachment by following the 1973-74 approach. Yes, it's slow; yes, it's detailed; no, it's not going to remove Donald Trump next week, maybe not ever. But it recognizes that impeachment is a political, not legal, action. It is one elected branch of government holding the other accountable. Precisely because it is political, it cannot be undertaken lightly, and must engage the voters' support. That's why televised hearings in which witnesses are able to help Congress understand what happened, how, when, and why are crucial. Ultimately, if the public does not think what the President demonstrably did rises to "high crimes or misdemeanors" Congress should not impose an impeachment. That's what happened in 1998, and it backfired; by contrast, by the summer of 1974 the public had absorbed huge amounts of evidence showing Nixon conspired to obstruct justice, and were supportive of a House resolution of impeachment.
Pelosi and Jerry Nadler know this history, and they're acting in accordance with the lessons of these two impeachment efforts. Just let the do their jobs and let's see where it leads the country.
"Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has placed House Democrats on the same path that Congress took with President Richard M. Nixon in the early 1970s — a path that ultimately led to his resignation on the eve of being impeached. Today, Pelosi is supporting the ongoing House Judiciary Committee investigation into President Donald Trump and the Mueller report. Left unsaid is that this is similar to the kind of investigation that would take place if the panel were conducting a formal impeachment proceeding...
"On March 4, the House Judiciary Committee announced an investigation 'into the alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption and other abuses of power by President Trump, his associates, and members of his Administration.' This is historically parallel to what the Senate did on Feb. 7, 1973, when it created the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, also known as the Senate Watergate Committee, to investigate the extent to which 'illegal, improper or unethical activities' occurred in the 1972 presidential campaign and election...
"By pursuing an in-depth investigation and televised hearings into Trump’s wrongdoing, the House Judiciary Committee has undertaken a mission to ensure that the American people are educated by a visualized presentation about Trump’s malfeasance. If the committee were to instead immediately undertake a formal impeachment proceeding, the national debate would focus on the conclusory decision about whether to impeach Trump — at a time when national polls indicate the American people do not support impeachment." link
I've been trying to explain to people for months that what the Dems are doing is laying a proper foundation for possible impeachment by following the 1973-74 approach. Yes, it's slow; yes, it's detailed; no, it's not going to remove Donald Trump next week, maybe not ever. But it recognizes that impeachment is a political, not legal, action. It is one elected branch of government holding the other accountable. Precisely because it is political, it cannot be undertaken lightly, and must engage the voters' support. That's why televised hearings in which witnesses are able to help Congress understand what happened, how, when, and why are crucial. Ultimately, if the public does not think what the President demonstrably did rises to "high crimes or misdemeanors" Congress should not impose an impeachment. That's what happened in 1998, and it backfired; by contrast, by the summer of 1974 the public had absorbed huge amounts of evidence showing Nixon conspired to obstruct justice, and were supportive of a House resolution of impeachment.
Pelosi and Jerry Nadler know this history, and they're acting in accordance with the lessons of these two impeachment efforts. Just let the do their jobs and let's see where it leads the country.