[OUTLINE] If the goal was to damage President Trump by formalizing the impeachment inquiry, it’s Mission Unaccomplished for House Democrats.
If anything, the vote solidified Trump’s hold on power. There were zero GOP defections, meaning we have zero drama heading into the public phase of impeachment. Everyone is pretty much in the same lanes they’ve been in since the Russian-collusion investigation, the obstruction of justice investigation and every other investigation.
Unfortunately for the Democrats, that gives people little reason to be glued to their screens when House committees take public testimony. The basic story ‐ Trump pressured Ukraine to announce investigations into Democrats that would help Trump ‐ is out there already. People know how they feel about it, and if you believe the polls, they’re pretty evenly split on whether the president deserves to be thrown out of office.
The only potential drama before last week’s vote was whether there might be any movement, whether any Republicans would see it Democrats’ way.
Looks like they don’t.
And when it gets to the Senate, it will play out just the same way. Someone like Sen. Willard
MittRomney, aka
Pierre Delecto
...former governor of Massachussetts, the Publican nominee for president in 2012, now Senator from Utah. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney has a record as a successful businessman, heading Bain Capital, and he rescued the 2002 Winter Olympics from the midst of bribery and mismanagement scandals. He is currently a member of the Never Trump Party and is attempting to assume the mantle of the late John McCain...of Utah may break GOP ranks, but no one thinks 20 Republicans, the bare minimum who would have to defect to convict Trump, would actually do so.
So the Democrats will spend the next few precious months acting out a pretend cliffhanger to which everyone actually knows the script and the ending. No plot twists in sight. Remember health care, the issue that won so many elections for Democrats in 2018? You might, but they don’t seem to.
Come next year, Trump will have an impeachment victory and quite possibly a solid economy. The Democrats will have ‐ what?
Related:
House Democrats: 2019-11-03 Just as we suspected
House Democrats: 2019-11-01 Bolton will not voluntarily testify, says his lawyer
House Democrats: 2019-11-01 Former CIA Acting Director on Impeachment Inquiry: ‘Thank God for the Deep State'
House Democrats: 2019-11-03 Just as we suspected
House Democrats: 2019-11-01 Bolton will not voluntarily testify, says his lawyer
House Democrats: 2019-11-01 Former CIA Acting Director on Impeachment Inquiry: ‘Thank God for the Deep State'