Amen bro. Time's up.
Here’s hoping you are right. Perhaps rudi and ‘mafia’ Donald can share a cell.
As in trump’s refrain Lock THEM up!
1
What is utterly absurd is for elected Republicans to reference the transcript of Trump's phone conversation with Zelensky and say that there is nothing improper or impeachable in it. That just reveals that they regard their own constituents as idiots. Well, perhaps their constituents are, but the rest of the American people are not.
5
Nixon had his enemies list.
Trump’s best buds are killers: Mohammad Bin Salman, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Il Jung. Just a word of caution, “Don’t poke the Barr.”
1
He has never learned to take a punch because he had a daddy who took all the punches for him. And he won office by convincing people he would take a punch for their antiquated racism. But perhaps the chickens are finally coming home to roost.
1
Wait a minute...
Your final paragraph concludes that impeachment is being used as a political tool for the Democrats.
Why can't you accept that the American people will not elect another corrupt Democrat as our president, so you have to play politics and overrule the voters will?
This sham impeachment inquiry only hurts the nation as a whole but Bouie notes, it's the only way the Dems can put forward a president out of that pack.
No way it's gonna be Kamala though, Jamal. We're just not ready for another incompetent black president. Earn your way to the top. Get elected honestly, not because you use the media to tear down the people's choice.
We'll see which tribal groups can really pack a punch in the upcoming Civil War y'all have been pushing these past years...
2
Ms. Dowd: Pelosi has clicked her slippers three times. Trump is on his way.
1
Trump is a coward. Virtually all bullies are, but this guy is a coward, and it shows.
Why do you think he abuses gold star families and war heros? Because he knows bravery was there, and he has none.
3
Hurray ! Pelosi delivered a powerful left hook that sent Trump reeling! Time to finish him off with a 1 2 punch! "Dresses like a butterfly, stings like a bee!"
1
I won't vote if Democrats don't impeach. I will vote straight party ticket for the Dems if they do impeach Trump. Last year I voted for Romney in the state of UT because I knew he would stand up against the fascist Trump; hopefully he continues to do so. Inaction in the face of these offenses is complacent approval.
Inaction in the context of Trump's abuses of power, his constitutional violations of the emoluments clause, his policy to imprison children in concentration camps because of their skin color, and his obsession with the fascist leaders of the world - not to mention his constant dishonesty, his violent behavior toward women, his mocking of the disabled and disadvantaged, his degradation of the foundational institutions of our republic, and his dementia - have long proven he is incompetent, immoral, and potentially catastrophically damaging to our great democratic experiment.
First SCOTUS handed our democracy over to the corporate oligarchy, and then this resulted in what upward usurpation of power always yields in the modern age - the rise of fascism. Trump may not be Hitler of 1940 yet, but he could very well be Hitler of 1930. Impeach this radically dangerous demagogue and I will vote for every Democrat I'm allowed to. We should never wait to take legal, effective, action against men like Trump. This is our democracy, not his realm to control and manipulate to his benefit.
3
In March 1945 it became clear that Germany would lose World War 2. Hitler signed a decree to have a scorched earth for Germany, where all things were to be destroyed. Germany was to be made one vast wasteland. But Hitler, his own personal fate sealed, was not interested in the continued existence of the German people.
The German People were spared this destruction by the quiet intervention of Albert Speer and others.
Hitler and Trump share several character traits. They both feel that what is most important is how they are affected by an event. They both have a long history of ignoring advice feeling they know best. And both are prone to rages. Hitler’s book was called “My Struggle”. Trump feels he is struggling against everyone.
With all of the crimes that the president, may have committed, that are presently under investigation, Trump’s situation may start to collapse. Might he issue his equivalent of a scorched earth policy? If he did would there be any meaningful protection for the country considering the third rate group of cabinet officers and presidential advisers in place, and that the Republicans in congress don’t show any indication that they might be a protection?
2
A criminal is a person who commits a crime.
In the following months, we will be repeatedly shown that our Executive Branch is comprised of criminals, from the top on down. In a little more than 13 months from now, the American public will be given the opportunity to do something about it. Or not. This will be the defining moment in our nation's history.
Other nations in their descent into Fascism have had their moments. In 1922 in Italy, the King appointed Mussolini as Prime Minister. The Fascist minority were overjoyed. The majority did nothing. In 1933 in Germany, Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor. The Nazi minority were thrilled. The majority did nothing.
November 3, 2020 is your moment, America. Obviously, our corrupt Senate will not remove Trump. It will be up to Americans.
5
Anyone who has grown up streetwise knows how to identify the cowardly punk. The person doing all of the talking and making all of the threats can neither throw nor take a punch. While the real gangster in the room is laying back in the cut in silence with at most a smile or at least a smirk or blank stare on their face.
The first time that Trump went bloviating buffoon trash talking on the mighty mean streets of the South Side of Chicago would earn him a journey to the ground on his buttocks at best with a visit to an emergency room in the middle or a trip to a morgue at worst.
Trump has never been man enough to get into a street fight. Trump can't even fire anyone face to face.
Trump fights by tweeting and speaking nicknames and slurs while watching Fox News and playing golf. No wonder Benjamin Netanyahu, Kim Jong Un, Recep Erdogan, Rodrigo Duterte,, Xi Jinping, Mohammed bin Salman and Vladimir Putin are still amused with Trump's antics.
3
Donald Trump is what the late "Don" John Gotti would call "a laydown Sally".
The phrase laydown Sally has two meanings (1) a despicable phrase for a prostitute down on her luck and (2) a heartless bully who has no fight in him after taking one good shot to the chin.
One Don to another Donald "a laydown Sally" would have been Gotti's description of Trump.
1
Can’t take a punch ? Agreed. And HE got a draft deferment for that, also.
Coward, Liar and Traitor.
3
Spoiled children make the worst leaders..
Go ask Caligula..
2
Narcissism and low IQ is never a good combo, and will eventually bring this President down. I just hope it’s sooner rather than later..!
3
The Village Idiot is a classic bully who, when pushed back, folds. As long as the twitter barrier is there he talks big, but when it's time to act in the real world he skulks away. Every domestic and foreign policy attempt he has tried shows this. He can only win against poor children at the border. Sometimes.
He and the GOP are hollow souls screaming in fear of their end. The end can't come fast enough.
PS - Concerning the article "The Kremlin said it hoped Mr. Trump’s calls with President Vladimir Putin would not be made public.". Let me translate - don't forget the "Pee-Pee" tapes!
1
Trump has not earned the respect that the office carries. From the Republican convention to today, he's been a sham. I think he's got off easy so far. High time to battle for truth, justice, and the American way in the most sincere form possible when facing an insidious lack of trust from voters of all stripes that put the man in office. Trump himself is just a blow hard. The problem is people believed in him passionately up to now. What on earth is that about? Fix that mislaid trust with well deserved trust.
Full impeachment investigation.... no holes BARRED or maybe that’s none of BARR’S holes ... heh heh.
To say that Trump can't take a punch is stupid.
2
These articles accomplish little except to convince people of NYT's bias and lack of confidence in its substantive case.
1
As I was reading about the system in the White House used to record presidential conversations, it begs the question - what else is out there?
And that goes not only for Trump, but for Obama, Bush, Clinton, etc.
If we had access to every one of these recordings, I'm sure there are many conversations that each of these presidents had, including Trump, that are just as damning and 'treasonous' as this call with Ukraine President Zelensky.
So, either every one of these calls fall under executive privilege accorded to a sitting President to need to have open and frank conversation with out being subject to scrutiny in real time or they don't.
If the former, Trump is right and this is an overstepping by Congress in the the Executive Branch.
If the latter, we need to see all such calls going back for the past three administrations and prosecute all parties involved - former presidents and their teams - where 'treason' was committed.
1
I do not know the correct course of action under these circumstances. There are risks no matter the course. But now we have a credible complaint (so says a respected IG and the acting director of the NSC) with greatly tantalizing leads to more damning details. Sober, deliberate investigation is necessary.
I hope and pray that the “whistleblower” is supported by his sources. And I can’t wait for the reasons for the schism between Barr and Pompeo. And our sanctimonious VP, who has aspirations of his own and paranoia about being dropped from the ticket in 2020.
Lastly, who is Red Sparrow?
1
Duck.
Had Gerald Ford allowed Nixon to face the justice of the court and be tried, punished and humiliated instead of papering over Nixon's open cesspool of personal dysfunction and institutional shame with a pardon, the consequences would have stood as a moral barrier over which this festering mob could not have climbed. Each successive administration since Nixon has in its own way, accumulated power at the expense of the people and their representatives, until we reach this point; an executive so venal, dysfunctional and Shakespearian in the monstrosity of his tragic personality, it would be entertaining in its spectacle if not for the broken and damaged bodies left by his mayhem and wicked disdain.
So we have the opportunity to finally lay to rest Ford's "long national nightmare": charge and punish the guilty and cast out the demons of our own making.
Like slavery, we can lance this moral boil, endure the pain and heal - or let it fester until it spills blood - either way, if rule of law is the principle ignored, the next election cycle is of no importance and there will be hell to pay.
2
I'm really sick of comments stating an impeachment may "backfire" or that maybe it shouldn't be started or done during an election year.
If this is supposed to be a valid check and balance into the abuse of power, corruption or whatever the impeachment main points will be damn the timing.
No matter what party you are in or whether you support it or not we need to uphold our institutions.
In this case it is clear this administration has repeatedly bent the accepted standards, bent the laws and broken them and has obstructed everything it can along the way. It has taken institutions put in place to safeguard our nation and attacked them or placed people in charge that place personal gain over our nation.
At a bare minimum he's incompetent and a disgrace to this country in so many ways. A guy that most Americans wouldn't want to invite into their home.
If you don't call some of this out then you are saying it's all OK. Republicans will eventually pay dearly for this in elections. This cleansing is required and long over due and I hope we get a Democrat that will at least begin to make institutional changes to start cleaning up this corruption.
We're at a point where you need to pick a side - you either stand for law or you don't
3
I have been warming toward impeaching this president in recent months but previously held the position that it might embolden his base and help him win in 2020. Another five plus years of a Trump Administration was very frightening. I ultimately came to the conclusion that politics be damned. Congress represents "we the people" at least that is what we in our 60's have been led to believe beginning in our formative years. Things have changed and we are not represented nearly as much as the corporate, banking, insurance sectors and organizations like the NRA are due to a failed political system, big money in politics etc. Now is the time for the House of Representatives to take a moral position and indeed truly represent we the people. It is doubtful that the Senate will truly represent us. I am elated that the House has formally now taken up an impeachment proceeding. I agree that should many Republicans continue to defend him it could ultimately cost them the Senate majority in 2020. The meeting with Russians in the Oval and Trump's very recently reported acceptance and almost encouragement of Russian election meddling during that meeting may loom as a more important story and betrayal of American values than Ukraine. Polling has now shifted to on our side, that is the side of Americans who will not tolerate a corrupt president and administration.
1
Let's not get excited about Mitt Romney's apparent open-mindedness. Mitt has a wet index finger perpetually in the air so he can follow the popular breeze, wherever it may blow him. I'm from Massachusetts. I know this to be true.
And yet, unbelievably, his supporters are only listening apparently to the frenetic, threatening, once-again lying words of Trump to completely and totally ignore facts. I have friends with whom I disagree, particularly about Trump obviously, and every time their go-to place when they can't refute the facts is: Well I have a right to my opinion. It should be pointed out you certainly have a right to your opinion, but why on earth would you come to it without employing at least some of the facts, which in this case are so damning no matter where you sit on the curve, it doesn't speak well of whoever is still defending Donald Trump and his provable corruption; his always-provable lies and the destruction of his descisions, to Americans as well as to immigrants he hates so much though his is a family of immigrants both long ago and not so long ago.
2
Mr Pettinore, I am pushing 68 and was around for both the Nixon and Clinton hearings, and have paid attention to how the press and the "opposition" parties treated each. To say that you have never seen a President endure the degree of press and partisan (my word) attacks doesn't ring true to me. Clinton was vilified by the Republicans unmercifully and the Press did their fair amount of piling on. Additionally, wasn't it McConnell who said his goal, indeed the goal of all Republicans in Congress to make Obama a one term President. Now, I agree that, partisan rancor is different than Press comments, but our Press has become Partisan as will(did you not listened the FOX commentators during Obama's administration?). The difference here is the shear magnitude of Trump's disdain for any form of Constitutionally mandated oversight and his conflating the "authority" to do something (even if he doesn't really have that Constitutional authority) with the "right" to do something. He believes that he has the "right" to do whatever he wants as he believes that being President is akin to being the King! While Nixon, Clinton and even Obama at times projected a sense of imperiousness, none believed that they were not governed by the Constitution. There is your difference.
3
I really hope that what comes out of this in the end is a return to a time when Congress was co-equal with the President. Regardless of whether the president is Republican or Democrat, all that a weak Congress does is allow Congress to let themselves off the hook for making difficult choices. They rail against the imperial presidency (when the president is of the opposite party) but continue to go along with it. By allowing the agenda to be set by the President alone, they can continue to raise cash and get re-elected.
This results in the incredible high stakes we have for national elections, and leads to talk of abolishing the filibuster once and for all. Polarization increases and "doing nothing" becomes the norm. Let us all pray that when this nightmare is over Congress wakes up.
1
It is depressing to witness the fall of the highest political office in the world, in the hands of a gang of ruthless criminals directed by Donald Trump and supported by the GOP. This impeachment could be the last possibility of rescuing American democracy and the rule of law in the USA. Dear Democrats, please go forward, in the name of America and all decent persons all over the world.
2
All good points. One scary aspect of this is that Trump asserts that those involved in bringing the truth to light deserve to be executed-- which is exactly what his buddies Kim Jong Un, Mohammed bin Salman and Vladimir Putin do as a matter of course. They don't like the truth coming out-- they just poison or dismember the person.
Trump has plenty of nutcase followers every bit as psychopathic as he is. They will do it for him. That's scary stuff, but that's the reality of what republicans are protecting in this unfit, unhinged, deranged fraudster.
3
Of course Trump can't take a punch. Like other wusses who know deep down that they are losers, he thinks that if he bleats, belches, lies and surrounds himself with craven toadies, he won't have to worry about taking a punch. Anything that resembles a punch is of course a "hoax." Any news report about what he actually has said or done is "fake news" and the reporters the "enemy of the people."
And now he is appalled at the prospect that the people are ready to punch back, and punch back hard. We have to, to protect our country. Let's knock him out of the ring, send him limping off to go lick all his self-inflicted wounds. Go take care of your loser anxieties elsewhere, Sir Whinealot.
4
Finally you have suggested the proper nickname for Glass Jaw Trump.
1
Trump has vulnerability because he is a narcissist, who is wounded to the core. You are correct that he can’t take a punch. Instead of deftly turning the punch to his advantage, he squanders his energy in stupid, angry outbursts. Thin skinned and feeling like a fraud (and he is) he is threatened by an honest inquiry. Step by step, unraveling his wrong doings in public is the only way to stop this man. He is not capable of resolving his own inadequacies. Simply — he needs to be destroyed.
3
Throw them all out, whether they can take a punch or not.
Read "Hunter Biden’s Perfectly Legal, Socially Acceptable Corruption" by Sarah Chayes in The Atlantic where she details the craven, unseemly behavior of not only Hunter Biden but of numerous establishment hacks and how they are legally gaming the system for their financial advantage.
I despise them all - Trump, Biden, Pelosi, McConnell, etc - for how they've debased and diminished this country with their corruption, incompetence and sleaze.
I'm furious - furious! - though not surprised, that Trump failed in delivering on his promised 'draining of the swamp'. Yet my fury is just as much focused on Crooked Joe Biden and the rest of the hacks that are turning the US in to a kleptocracy for the 1% and those parasites feeding off their lucrative crumbs - the permanent government, the MSM, the revolving door of lobbyist and lawyers, etc.
The US needs real reform NOW!
1
“Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.”
—Dumbledore (aka Jk Rowling)
Bullies, batterers, and abusers rarely can take a punch.
3
It would be wonderful if the Senate convicted trump but it is not necessary. If he is impeached by the House this will stick to him like duct tape. Republicans in both the House and the Senate that defend him will be permanently branded as The Party Of Trump, not as Republicans. The Republican Party will be in shambles, a fitting end.
2
I believe Trump ran for President as a joke and was surprised when he won. But he is determined to ruin this country. He wanted the Bidens investigated, he investigated the Clintons. But he is pals with Russia. He wants to be a dictator and we have to stop him or we are lost. Trump thinks he can gaslight his way through and people will be too stupid to know it. I want him out. I dislike Pence and his insistence there is no line between church and state but he would be easier to deal with.
2
Trumps entire life is the saga of a flawed individual without redemption. The man is the walking definition of a narcissistic sociopath and coward.
He is a vile political tsunami that destroyed the Republican
Party and Evangelical Christians. He is the class of individual that was defeated by America’s Greatest Generation.
Trump, Pence and party must be removed in order to restore the greatness that is America.
3
Trump was a five time draft dodger during the Vietnam War. He has never fought for anything. His whole shallow, sheltered, pampered life has been without consequence. It goes without saying that he can't take a punch. He is a marshmallow in physique and acumen.
3
Have the American people had enough?
1
What if Biden is guilty of a crime?
What a farce to watch this juvenile delinquent presume a mandate from a grossly tainted election he lost by almost three million votes, under a ludicrously malapportioned system rooted in liberty to enslave.
1
I do wish the NYT would quit referring to the "reconstruction" of the call as a transcript.
A transcript is the whole 30 min call verbatim. The "memorandum" is just what someone claims to remember, which is fishy because 30 mins of speech would surely take a good deal more than 5 pages to write down.
2
Agree with all this, but you forgot to mention an even greater sign of Trump's panic--him phoning Pelosi and seeing if they could make a deal the mroning of his most recent, rambkling, try-to-defelect-to-Biden 'news conference' where he called the Ukraine uproar 'a joke.' It's when he's nice that you know he's on the defensive, becuase at heart he's a coward.
2
As usual, Jamelle is the sharpest point in the room. All that's nonsense about Trump thriving on chaos is just that. He is instead a spoiled and pampered child who can't bear to be criticized or refused. And when he is, he throws ugly tantrums. Those tantrums disgusted voters at the midterms; there is good reason to believe they will do so again.
3
No, Trump can't take a punch. And his bloody nose is now dripping drops in the water. The sharks are circling and his boat leaking fast.
2
We can only hope to see all of them led out in handcuffs
2
Trump can't take a punch? Say what you will about the man, but that's about the most ignorant thing I've ever heard. Just what is it you think he's been doing for the past 5 years? Not only as he took every punch, kick, eye-gouge and everything else thrown at him, including the kitchen sink, he emerges absolutely unscathed and unmarked. Maybe Dems can't throw a punch would be a better line. Cause that's absolutely ridiculous.
1
Trump is a cancer, destroying decency and democracy. Merely commenting on it will not cure it. Impeachment is the necessary surgery.
Tangentially, perhaps Speaker Pelosi, who clearly has the number of the cantankerous cry-baby who currently occupies the oval office, has been playing her own version of Muhammed Ali's "Rope a dope" strategy, give Dope Donnie enough rope to hang himself, which he just may have done.
2
Lindsey Graham is a joke. What kind of loser sells their soul to ride the coattails of the monster Trump? Oh! That's right! The kind of loser who is a member of a party that can't win without subverting democracy. The kind of loser who knows his party is corrupt. The kind of loser who knows that his party has only won one Presidential election in the past seven.
2
Pity the poor interpreter who has to communicate what Donald Trump says to a non-native speaker. The man can't utter a cohesive paragraph to save his administration.
His scattered sentence structure reflects frenetic synaptic firing in his very large... ah... brain.
1
Bullies can never take punches
He just projects his weakness onto everyone else
2
While I agree he can’t take a punch, he is certain to start throwing lots of punches in all directions. The Saudi oil field strike was pushed off the front pages but look for some new provocation requiring a US/Israeli military strike. Poor Joe Biden will likely be dealt a knockout blow as all this Ukraine muck dredges up Hunter’s unfortunate history. A capitulation on the China trade war, a new caravan from El Salvador, another hurricane in Alabama - expect rabbit punches, haymakers, and rope-a-dopes from now until the election. We can only cheer for a KO or even a TKO to knock this palooka out of the ring forever!
1
This should be simple. The entire world knows he’s a petty thug. Always has been. He’s unfit, and our imperfect system HAS to show us that it does work.
It needs to expel the infection, a bit sore afterwards then healthier after that.
He’s an aberration. A big mistake. And an obvious criminal (oblivious, I think, to his own lawless behavior). Disinfect! Impeach.
2
Trump can't take a punch? What a perfect example of understatement. Trump can't even take slight criticism. Heck, Trump can't take anything short of unabashed adulation.
2
I hope the Democrats take it straight to Leavenworth, which is where Trump and Pence and Barr and Pompeo and Nunes and many more crooked Republicans belong.
1
Donald Trump is a Coward and a Sociopath, a very dangerous combination . he will put others at risk to cover for his insecurity and incompetence. Watch out , if he is under pressure because of his corruption and possible treason, but worse yet worried about his polling numbers as the election nears, he may create crises that put our Nation and others at great peril.
3
It is odd, but one thing is missed. Trump is not finished doing foolish things. There is next week and the one after. Today and all those tomorrows.
The Democrats may make mistakes. Trump will certainly make them, plenty of them significant mistakes.
If the Democrats get a yellow card or two, Trump will kick an own goal. If f the Democrats are offsides, Trump will throw a pic-six. If the Democrats have an error, Trump will be thrown out of the game. The longer he is in the game the more these will stack up.
And it is the Republicans who will get to live with all this after it is over.
1
I admit much of this is speculation writes the author. He used the wrong word.
It is not speculation. It is day dreaming.
What immediately strikes me is that other elected Republicans are referencing the rough transcript of Trump's phone conversation with Zelensky and then saying there's nothing wrong with it, when so clearly there is. They are betraying that they think their constituents are idiots. Perhaps their constituents are, but the American people as a whole are not. Impeachment is essential, and so is Trump's removal from office, if not through impeachment then at the ballot box.
Ugh. Devin Nunes. The $50,000,000 Cow, who says Democrats are looking for nude pictures of donald tRump. Can you imagine? Oh, right, we all want to see a naked, dumpy donnie. Uh, no thanks. Melania's photos were enough for most of us. But, back to the topic--Can't take a punch. Few have ever tried, and that's why he feels completely impervious. How about somebody really PUNCH him, like--oh, I don't know--RICHARD NEAL (chair of Ways and Means) who REFUSES to accept the TAX RETURNS that the state of New York is offering--he could really deliver the killing punch. I wonder why not? Does HE have something to hide? We don't really know if donnie can take a punch. Nobody has tried. We do know that he can dish out the insults and lies, but he can't take it in return, because he's a whining baby---but a real physical, mental big boy punch? How about we find out? Representative Neal? Your move.
1
There is nothing to overthink with this search for justice. This latest revelation, the telephone calls, the transcripts, killing whistle blowers, Trump overplayed his hand thinking like Putin he can destroy everything that is the foundations of our laws and America.
Heand a whole group of internal employees covered up and are covering up his crimes against America. This is not about winning or not winning a meaningless election if there is no America left anymore.
Very simple, Trump is a serial abuser and America keeps forgiving ,Trump will not be satisfied till the cancer he is spreading destroys the entire country. He is working with Putin ,Boris to destroy the world with corruption and hate.
Trump earned being impeached and impeached he will be. The GOP who stand with him will be losing their positions starting with Kevin ,Joe, Moscow Mitch. America listen, we see and those GOP are un American. They dont care about the people they represent, they want to wear white shirts and refuse to get their hands dirty doing real work for the people. They work for a con man and draft dodger. If they were Americans they would be outraged by what Trump has done to the Ukraine, the irony is we were suppose to be the good guys not the mob
1
Oh gosh, what a snowflake. Trump can dish it out, but when the tables are turned he becomes a whiny cry-baby.
1
Investigate! Investigate! Investigate! Let out all the rot and vermin to show what's been happening since Trump moved into the Oval Office. It's hard to cover up the stench of corruption even with expert fumigators like Kellyanne and Devin Nunes and Kevin McCarthy. Even the brain-dead who now only believe the Fox punditry will eventually smell the stench.
1
Congress has to do it's job. Any patriot knows that.
He deserves every punch he gets. They are far fewer than the people he attacks, discredits and tries to destroy on a daily basis. I have never seen such a disgusting, lying weakling in my life.
1
Trump is so much worse than Nixon. What are the Republicans waiting for? Another hacked election? Waiting for Donnie to shoot someone on 5th Avenue? Waiting for more stories about sexual escapades? Waiting for Godot? What????? They are ruining their own brand by ignoring Trump. On the other hand a life without Republicans could be very good.
1
Think of all the trials and tribulations of the last few years we've faced as a Nation since the Primaries..All the hirings,firings,resinations,indictments ,convictions, Cohen and Lewandowski's testimonies ….and on and on...all of this could have easily been avoided if during the Primaries when Trump was at his brashest...more of us would not have thought Voting for him was such a good idea !! What we saw is what we got!! Worse is that there's still a Fox Nation among us who like it like this !! Voting Blue in 2020 will assure we won't be reading about the embarrassing antics of our next President daily !! Oh what a relief that will be !!...Impeached or not Trump will be gone one day...he'll be going away mad and not without a fight I'm sure !! What a mess..worst president in American History .....what were you thinking America in 2016?? Hopefully..you've wised up !!
in the mid-1970s while sitting in the dentist's office I picked up a magazine, in there was an article about Donald Trump and his fascination with the "Mob" what shot out at me was the fact that the "mobster-gangster" he idolized was Paul Castellano, an accountant who after the death of his brother in law was elevated to head of the Gambino family, Trump thought this interesting as Castellano was a mere businessman, at the time, he was already a "wannabee mobster-gangster"hanging with John Gotti, Sammy the Bull Gravano and several others, if you look and study Organized Crime you will see that these figures eluded the law countless times by following the creed that everyone is a traitor, that you demean their character, that you surround yourself with people who will lie, cheat be they lawyers, soldiers,anyone easy to corrupt, anyone who seeks power, wealth no matter how they attain it, so here we are in 2019 and he now brings to the Republican party the exact thing that he found was strength, he has managed to bully people, to serve only himself he doesn't care about his base, he doesn't care about his family, he certainly doesn't care about his cabinet or GOP, it's all about what he can get in the end for Donald this is what the head of the "Mob" does, the has- beens(Giuliani) the pundits will check their morals and values at the door as they have, will impeachment finally be his downfall and if so what will his punishment be, the RICO act is what he fears, prison (lol)
2
I do not understand the question about impeachment proceedings in an election year. Why should a president who commits an impeachable act closer to an election, but not be called on it, and have to answer for it because it is too close to an election?
3
In January of 2011, when the Arab Spring movement hit Egypt, I was a professor at a university in an Arab country. A colleague of mine was from Egypt and an ardent supporter of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s ruler. She was very adamant in her support of Mubarak and refused to listen to reports of his misconduct.
In April of 2011, Mubarak and his two sons were arrested on charges of corruption and abuse of power. Facts began streaming in from multiple news sources around the world. The evidence stacked up against Egypt’s long time ruling family.
As my friend listened to all of it, she finally saw him as much of the rest of the world saw him, and she was shocked at how naïve she had been to believe in his acclaimed dedication to the people of Egypt. Then, in a complete turn of opinion, she believed he deserved whatever punishment would be meted out to him…. and then some.
I only tell this story as an example of what *could* happen in the US if impeachment inquiries provide an abundance of *facts*, and the tipping point of support for Trump and his Minions moves closer and closer to zero.
2
Agreed but I don't assume the Senate will acquit him. A Senate trial will consist of 51 Republican jurors, many of whom have been disparaged, degraded or manipulated by the President, presided over by Justice Roberts who has also been insulted by Mr. Trump. The cowards in the GOP may well plunge their knives into the back the President who stomped them into the mud on his way to the 2016 nomination.
1
Trump demeans everybody, including our country. He can dish it out but he can't take it. I hope we survive this presidency. Although I am not too optimistic. Too many drank the Kool aid.
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Polled my high school students on Friday. 85% said #45 should have been impeached a long time ago.
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Exactly. His personality is such that suffers narcissistic injury easily. The lay term would be that he has a thin skin. Add this to the fact that he is impulsive to the point of having a clinical impulse control disorder, in lay terms that he is incapable of being a strategic thinker. As if this isn't enough he has a tendency to paranoid ideation - again in other words that he believes people and forces are out to get him. He is sadistic and likes to inflict harm and discomfort, which makes him even more irrational when he lashes out. His deep narcissism and arrogance means he believes he knows it all and thus he won't take advice from those smarter and more savvy than he is. Trump is a potpourri of psychiatric symptoms adding up to more than malignant narcissism. I illustrated this in a photoshop which I put on Twitter: he will dig himself deeper and deeper until he is in a hole he can't get out of. He can't help it. It is in his nature. Hal Brown, MSW, Retired psychotherapist, Duty to Warn group. https://twitter.com/HalMBrown/status/1177789343710081029
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The American public is so polarized that many of us want a vote Monday--we've seen enough of this corrupt buffoon. Others think he should be enthroned for life without regard to some of his little "short cuts".
However the Democrats handle the investigation, they have to follow the KISS strategy: Keep it Simple, Stupid. This will allow everyone to see just what happened and why it was bad.
The Republicans have been great at naming things in ways that capture their followers' imaginations. Think "Benghazi..." These names have often been Orwellian, labelling things the exact opposite of their true function. Such as calling regulations that allow polluters much more room to pollute "Clean Air" regs. Hey, Americans are busy--they don't have time to look at details.
So each of trump's bad actions needs a quick and easy catch-phrase name. The one in the news today could be the Ukraine mob project--our mobster in chief tells his victim in Ukraine to get dirt on someone or else his little country might have a tragic "accident" before US aid can reach it. There could be the Oval Office Russian Tea Party where trump apparently told the Russians that he didn't mind their interference on his behalf, and indeed, they could keep up their good work. The "Trump Tower" should become short-hand for foreigners buying influence with the president. Just keep it easy to spot and remember.
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The political issues relative to the 2020 Presidential, House, and Senate elections will sort themselves out in due time. This, however, has been a fight for America's soul and future. As Trump has trampled over the Constitution for the personal gain of himself, his family, and his elite (only) supporters, we are facing a significant weakening of American democracy. One party has shown itself to be absolutely craven and driven by selfish interest—the Republicans, driven by Mitch McConnell's big-business-friendly-at-any-cost agenda. That leaves the Democrats, as weak and divided as they are, to stand up for the Constitution and American democracy.
To me, this isn't about winning the 2020 elections; it's about winning America and taking it back from the forces of authoritarian oligarchy that are subverting everything we are supposed to stand for...in the name of money. And these forces will seemingly stop at nothing to preserve their advantage. It needs to stop. To me, America more and more is beginning to look like a combination of Saudi Arabia (monarchy supported by theocracy), Russia (bogus democracy with an absolute autocrat supported by a group of oligarchs), and Nazi Germany (authoritarian government that uses racism and fear mongering to sustain the status quo).
Now more than ever, I believe both America and the world need a United States that, though imperfect, tries to be the "good guys"—a force for progress and decency. I want to believe in my country again.
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Trump may hurl insults at Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler as they politely and methodically take him apart piece by piece. He may think a shakedown is a perfect telephone call. He may continue to stride through the capital like Julius Caesar. But I think it is no longer a foregone conclusion that the Senate will be his redoubt. His 'E tu Brute?' moment is coming. Senators can smell blood in the water as well as any shark. And while Republican Senators may fear him, they do not love him. When they finally come to fear the wrath of the voters more, he is toast.
1
Anyone who has had to deal with schoolyard bullies knows his type. Mouthy and sneaky until the teacher catches on. Then bluster about doing nothing wrong, being the real victim etc. His gang of supporters gathers around him protectively. The rest watch with anticipation. He has gotten away with things for so long. Will this time be different? Will he finally face consequences? Trump never outgrew this stage.
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Our problem is not just that Mr. Trump is corrupt. He has surrounded himself with self-serving corrupt advisors, practiced nepotism, and has installed corrupt supporters to head the DOJ, Intelligence community, and State Department. He has also installed spineless toadies in other departments - Perdue in Agriculture is a good example. These individuals have multiplied Trumps corruption and broadened the problems he has initiated both domestically and internationally.
1
Another well reasoned intelligent op ed. He is becoming more and more unhinged. He is incapable of intelligent responses when cornered. Impeachment is necessary to prove the institutions actually work
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It's interesting watching Trump become a victim of his own tactic, namely having so much thrown at him at once that he can't keep up. His hysterical Tweets show that. As evidence of not only his wrongdoing but his near treason, his betrayal of his oath and this country, his arrogance and stupidity pours out by the hour, or so it seems, Trump is finally the one who can't keep up. How's it feel, Donald? Next time you want to pretend you're a Christian, be sure you get the Do unto others..." thing down first. Also, shame, shame, shame on anyone who calls themself an American or patriot for defending this, at all. This ain't no fib about a private consensual affair in a meritless civil suit paid for by rabid haters of the president after seven years of an actual witch hunt which began with a ten year old land deal and had a fired SP when he found no wrongdoing....this is about a president who has put his own interests above the security of this country, the lives of Ukrainians, and who used taxpayer money and his power as US president to do so. The only word I can think of for that is treason, and no president in US history has committed an act more worthy of impeachment than has this president.
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A Ukrainian official earlier this year said he had no evidence of wrongdoing by Mr. Biden or his son Hunter in that country.
If that's the case why are the Democrats are running from Biden as if he has a bomb strapped to him?
Warren isn't cutting it with the Democrats big donors. They want her buried yesterday.
That opportunist, Buttigieg, is trying to collect as much money as humanly possible. His doubters are seeing an opening. However, he's a little weak on race relations. Can a good deal of bootlicking fix that before the nomination?
We need to know.
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I would like to read the transcripts of the phone calls (now also hidden in the top secret computer) between Trump and Putin, and Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince. Better yet..... I'd like to hear what Trump and Putin discussed in person when nobody else was allowed to listen......except the translator.
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Mr. Bouie...
Yes, yes, and, oh yes: YES!
Bully politics, when cornered, reveal the coward underneath.
In the fable, when the King-Who-Has-No-Clothes loses his force-shield, those holding the magic wands creating the false bully pulpit, scatter like cockroaches exposed to brilliant light.
So there, more than perhaps here.
Thank you for this important exposition and shaft of brilliant light.
May the Force be with our Country.
(as it has since the beginning).
God Bless the Truth!
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Over and over again, Trump has called his conversation with the Ukrainian president "perfect".
Trump's "perfect" is the enemy of the good of the country and of a democratic government,
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"And if I’m right, and impeachment sends Trump into new lows (he has already joked about executing spies), then Democrats might help themselves next November by taking this inquiry as far as it can go."
"Joked" about executing spies? Now I find this whole mess scary. Given that this new game now has Vladimir Putin, and Prince Muhammad bin Salman, I now wonder if we are suddenly going to see important people starting to show up dead, a bit more frequently, now. Both Mr. Putin and Mr. bin Salman have shown themselves willing and able to kill people they don't like in other countries.
I hope they can find ways to protect the witnesses and other important persons in this affair.
"Joked," indeed. Ha, ha, ha! Uh-oh!
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Republicans keep saying there was no quid pro quo. They seem to be leaning on the crutch that Trump did not actually say the actual words “get dirt on Biden or else no dough”. They seem to imagine this whole sordid presidency as some sort of B movie, scripted like a Saturday morning gangster show, where until the bad guy snarls a confession and the good guy shouts “Gotcha!” the rest of us won’t notice the crimes. Hey GOP guess what- we aren’t dumb. There whole defense is rather like trying to cover up a pregnancy. Sooner or later even they will have to admit the obvious.
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Sure hope you're right Mr. Bouie. Thanks for your columns which I find consistently interesting and thoughtful.
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Thank you. Well said. May the ever cautious Democrats take heart.
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Trump has fostered a myth that he is this great counterpuncher and the media has for most part went along with it. Thank you Bouie for telling everyone that Trump in the parlance of the sweet science really has a glass jaw. Trump and his base rarely punch up or counterpunch equals. Trump incessant obsession with anything Obama shows he is truly a weak insecure man. To have the country on the brink of war with Iran because you can't stand the fact that a man of color, Obama, is respected more than you are is clinical. Refusing to buck the NRA is not a sign of a guy who can take a punch. What I find ironic is how can his base truly believe their Great Leader is really a tough guy? Tough guys don't make up fake bone spurs to keep them from defending their country. Trump has never been held accountable for nothing in his life and now that his fake bravado is not serving him he is like a fish on a hook. Pelosi gave him enough line and he hung himself. Trump thought that the fear of arousing his base made him The Teflon Don. Not only can't Trump take a punch he also proves daily that he in not very bright. The day after he escapes The Wrath of Mueller he opens up this present can of worms?
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The former Ukraine prosecutor was on TV this morning and said that Hunter Biden did not violate anything. Wouldn't he be the one to know and question? Trump smears everyone. New Yorkers are used to it but this is on a national level. Trump is a disgrace to this country. He must be removed.
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Right spot on, Mr. Bouie.
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We don’t know that Trump asked a foreign leader to meddle in an election. We do know he asked that alleged corruption by a former US VP be looked into. Why? Because video of said VP apparently blackmailing a Ukrainian leader was just shown to the masses.
What happens if the Dems impeach Trump and we come to learn that optics of Biden’s action are in fact true?
This has been debunked several times now including by more than one Ukrainian prosecutors.
This is a typical Trump smear a la his Kenyan Birther lie, his Hillary pizza/child sex ring lie, and his Cruz father with Lee Harvey Oswald lie. Trump has been documented to lie more than 12,000 times so far.
Significantly he withheld $400 million in desperately needed and already authorized military aid to Ukraine, said he expected Ukraine to be "reciprocal", and that he needed Ukraine to do him a favor and find dirt on Biden.
Spreading Trump's smears is like spreading manure. Everyone involved stinks to high heaven.
Lies, lies, and more lies, topped by insults and smears -- that is Trump's modus operandi most of his life.
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It’s absolutely incumbent upon Democrats to hold this felon accountable . The problem facing them now is how do you get these criminals to even respond to subpoenas...they’ve shown they’re above the law, and will obfuscate, filibuster and “executive privilege” their way out of EVERY question. Bill Barr, as expected, is an even bigger criminal because he KNOWS BETTER...hold him in contempt of Congress if he attempts dodge any hearings.
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I agree with everything said in this article.
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We are at a fault line in our nation. Not a question of whose fault. But rather, a true moment of seismic fault potential—-which could crumble our democratic republic. I read this morning that a recent poll found that 91% % of Republicans support President Trump. Shocking to me. Which is why Romney and Sasse and other reasoned, thoughtful Republicans are so critical in this moment. It’s not a game. Our nation is at stake. Listening to the buzz of the guygirlcounter it’s way bigger than an election. Or bet hedging. It IS our democracy and those we elected to protect and serve———who took an oath against “all enemies, foreign and domestic”——I implore to rise. Stand. Unite. Be the principled leader. That’s nonpartisan. It is part and parcel with integrous governance. No matter your political stripes———our Stars and Stripes need you right now. Of course, it’s an incredible political opportunity—-but I’m not calling out to be opportunist. Rather, I’m urging our elected leaders to lead. To take charge. Re-read the second to the last paragraph. And act. If you’ve got the best and heart of our nation’s health in mind (which you DO have in your hands)—-know that “we’ve got you” and will thank you.
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How about the talking and twitting heads stop playing dime store Machiavelli and those with constitutional duties solemnly meet their constitutional duties without regard to whether they belong to extra constitutional factions such as democrat and republican? And without the 24/7 plea for attention clown shows?
thank you for voicing something I have been thinking for as long time..... he's a bully ad by definition he cannot take a punch nor does he desire to do so...... paper tiger all the way.
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Trump, from the beginning, asked Russia to help him find 30,000 Clinton emails. He sold our intelligence agencies down the river at HelsInking and, in my mind is a TRAITOR for it. He believes himself above the law, able to do as he plases. Lack of any sanctions or control thus far on top of a Justice Departmental memo prohibiting indicting a sitting president gave me the same impression...impunity to act as the chooses. With a power hungry, unhinged and temperamentally unfit person as president, a reckoning must happen. Dig into those other calls and see what other "favors" he has solicited. This is a bad man deserving of impeachment. Now the Senate needs to get on board (good luck with those spineless creatures who put party above country). Impeach Trump.
Trump doesn't have to take a punch to succeed since he always has had an army of blind and thoughtless loyalists who gladly and willingly take every punch for him. Their complicity in aiding and abetting his demented criminal behavior
is what got him elected in the first place and will likely continue by allowing him a second term. In his narcissistic mind he can do no wrong, only right while his opponents continue to argue among themselves, thereby dividing instead of uniting themselves and this democracy until they realize once again that nice
folks rarely finish first. There's only way to truly end this vicious cycle: Vote.
I think too many people are only aware of the trump that appeared on The Apprentice.
The man who was allowed to indulge in his masquerade of being a successful billionaire... few people remember or are aware of the younger trump who would routinely make a fool out of himself in front of cameras, in radio interviews or anywhere he could promote the illusion of his greatness.
I wonder how many people are aware of the grubby windbag who tried to take away the home of an elderly widow using eminent domain and eventually lost.
I wonder how many remember how he couldn’t even look into the camera when a reporter asked him about his loss, how he could only keep his face turned like some scolded child, sneer and insult her home...
Vera Coking beat the mighty “Donald” and got the pleasure of watching his empire fall apart next door...
trump is, was and always will be a weak, weak coward who can’t take the slightest bruising of his raw and tender ego.
Like all bullies and conmen he is a pathetic loser and despite all his bragging and chest thumping, knows he is nothing... he is enraged when his illusion fails and someone sees him behind the curtain.
He will strike out before he falls, but he will fall and the sooner he falls the better it will be for this nation.
Somewhere out there is the spirit of a proud old woman who was the first of many to put him in his place... somewhere out there Vera Coking is having the last laugh... all at “the donald’s“ expense.
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He wasnt joking when he spoke of executing spies. He has no sense of humor. Does anyone really believe he would hesitate to do it if he could? Remember the murderers he admires.
Don’t put much faith in Romney and Sasse to serve as guide dogs to their fellow party stalwarts. I hear from friends that the Twitterverse in Utah is alive with anti-Romney activity: most are ready to skin him alive. Don’t expect much from this particular ‘profile in cowardice.’ Same with Sasse. Family in Nebraska tell me that he is on thin ice.
Let the congress deal with it. The candidates will give their opinion, while explaining their programs we badly need. This will actually increase optimism in the electorate.
Impeachment is not over-throw, coup, or revolution. It's a non- violent, lawful step by step procedure, debated and deliberated, with protections and rules.
A dilemma? Hamlet’s famous soliloquy— “To Be Or Not To Be”--- shows his internal debate----apt for nervous politicians of either party in 2019:
To Impeach or not to Impeach? That is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (politics)
Or to take arms against our sea of troubles, and by opposing (impeaching) -- end them.
Or ...rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of? Aye, there's the rub! (it may get worse!)
Thus---Conscience makes cowards of us all.
Now caution, calculation and maybe fears of election backlash (exaggerated) make some politicians into cowards. All crazy. If the Dems don’t go for impeachment of this guy, then even if a Dem is elected for 2020, the next GOP swamp creature will be ready to come up to the surface and try for power in the next campaign.
If the House lays out a convincing case, it will set a standard for our democracy. It may get a better class of Republicans in the future. It will be convincing to the younger generation, already more progressive than many senior voters.
Of course he can't take a punch. Bone spurs make one quite unsteady.
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I doubt that Trump can't take a punch. I am certain that the NY Times, and Mr. Bouie in particular, can't land one. Or at least not an honest one. Instead, we get half-truths and spin: Joe Biden has really been cleared of any wrongdoing with regard to his son's Ukrainian oil company sinecure? Love to see where that was proven; Trump offered a quid pro quo? Only in the Times' fantasies, but nowhere in the transcript. The Times has found itself incapable of landing a punch, so it resorts to a steady drumbeat of distortion—call it the Little Lie technique: repeat enough of them often enough and even the prevaricators begin to believe their own falsehoods.
If the House votes out Articles of Impeachment and Massacre Mitch attempts to prevent a trial in the Senate, I predict there will be a million people marching in DC and 5 million in the rest of the country demanding the Senate to HOLD THE TRIAL! and the trial will be held!
To quote Shakespeare on Trump, "Thou protesteth too much".
Mr Buskirk ("Impeachment is an Act of Desperation") is wrong. Dead wrong. Mainly because he's relying on the hopes and dreams of the Teflon Don Defense. Also known as the, "I could shoot someone...and get away with it!" Syndrome. (I'd like to see him try, just to watch the wannabe manly-man, wince handling a gun)
Buskirk like so many others cant keep up this, "its their fault and not his" line of defense either...not for long. Not the Dems, nor the Media is making these things up! They are all self-inflicted. Every one of the small and bigger "crimes" of the man and his Presidency are all self-inflicted. Surely some lesser foibles have been blown-up out of proportion, but they were still produced by Trump. From my Inauguration crowd was the bigliest ever! To this! All his doing. All sourced from Trump.
Very few people with half a functioning brain, truly believed the Wolff book was gonna end his term. That's more bogus GOP spin! Fox said that, over and over...indicating more about their own fears, then the hopes of the Dems. Or just plain garden variety Trump haters.
Plus, Biden truly has nothing to do with what Trump did here. Nothing. Yet another ploy of Trump, and the too many Buskirks. "Whatabout-ism!"
Trump's 4 basic plays; 1. Deny. 2. Attack. 3. Blame others. 4. Use the absurd to change the subject. Its all he does, his life spent relying on the directions for using shampoo; Apply, rinse, repeat.
Even the most expensive brand Teflon pans wears out from abuse.
One suggestion for the NYT and the WAPO. Please investigate Ivanka, Junior, and Fredo (aka Eric) about their foreign dealings since President Daddy has been in office. If anyone wants to see Trump become completely unhinged, watch what happens when these stories start coming out.
Punch Drunk, maybe. With power and hubris.
Sad.
Why is Ukraine so important to Trump and Putin? It's at the heart of Trump-Russia, as I note here https://realcontextnews.com/how-cohens-and-manaforts-ukraine-ties-tell-the-deeper-story-of-trump-russia-and-the-mueller-probe/ Also, as Giuliani embarrasses himself over Ukraine and Biden, a look at Rudy's own shady ties to Ukraine and the Russian mafia https://realcontextnews.com/rudy-giulianis-kislin-connection-raises-issues-for-his-role-as-trumps-russia-lawyer-exclusive-analysis/ And with Trump using his official power as POTUS in conducting foreign policy to target Joe Biden, we may have his most explicit attempt to make govt into his own personal political tool for hurting his political enemies, part of a trend with him/GOP I note here https://realcontextnews.com/trump-gop-destroying-the-pillars-of-democracy/ On impeachment, I believe that Trump should have been impeached some time ago, but practical considerations make this issue much more complicated, as I noted before here https://realcontextnews.com/the-impeachment-of-donald-trump-russias-victory/ And let's not forget the main opening chapter in this whole saga, what I call the Russo-American Cyberwar of 2016. See the big-picture you haven't read about in my take here: https://realcontextnews.com/the-first-russo-american-cyberwar-how-obama-lost-putin-won-ensuring-a-trump-victory/ Trump telling the Russians in 2017 he wasn't concerned about election interference is grossly unacceptable after what happened.
Trump and many in the GOP's leadership, (McConnell & Graham) behave like mean, spiteful 12 year old girls, whose arrogance knows no bounds. We can only hope that either the GOP finds a few adults to take over, or the entire party goes down with the Trumptanic.
Bullies can never take a punch, they can only dish them out. And always with an audience, which is the entire point. Shun them, and laugh AT them. Eventually, they will crawl back into their hole, and diminish.
I agree completely with Buskirk
What you have pointed out is what most bullies will do when they are out of their element.
a) they won't do their homework when faced with real world rules, since they are mentally lazy
b) they rely on bluster and posturing to see them through when called out
Joe goes around setting fires to neighborhood cats. Joe is very slick John's parents parents report this to Joe's parents. Joe is very slick and "notheg can every be definitively proven. Joe's parents detest John's parents. Joe's parents have also spoiled little Joe his whole life. Joe's parents cant' stop supporting Joe because any admission would mean that they are bad parents and that they were complicit in Joe's behavior. Joe's parents are very wealthy, and leaders in the local church. Joe's father is also the coach for the town's football team and a volunteer on the local police force. The town is rabid in their support of the team. Now Joe has been caught on a hidden surveillance camera. What will the town do?
Trump can't take a punch and the Democrats can't deliver a punch. Fortunately Trump keeps punching himself in the face, and doing the Democrats work for them.
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Finally! Somebody has said it.
The purpose of impeachment must be to expose this president's high crimes and misdemeanors sufficiently to make his general unfitness for the office evident to all but the most rigidly partisan diehards. I hope the Democrats put political considerations aside, and take all the time necessary to accomplish this vital objective. This is no time for timidity.
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I pray that as long as the houses impeachment investigation stays laser focused on this presidents conversation with the president of Ukraine, stays focused on the “favor” the president does NOT deny asking of a foreign leader
If the democrats can deliver their concise message clearly for the American public to understand in the face of all the spin and denial and crazy talk coming from fox and friends, then impeachment will do its constitutional duty to protect our democracy.
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While I understand and find interesting the various analyses of whether impeachment will help or hurt the electoral chances of one or the other party, it is to me irrelevant. As we teach our children, there comes a time when we must stand up, be heard, and act simply because it is the right thing to do. This is one of those times. To me, it doesn't even matter (OK, it matters, but it's not the key thing) if, after he is impeached in the House, Trump is convicted in the Senate. What matters is that principled people, through the impeachment process, say: "Enough. This is wrong. Our nation is better than this. It is not for sale to a third-rate, abusive, sleazy con artist with no compassion, conscience, or strength of character. We believe in our Constitution. We believe in our historical commitment to the rule of law and to the worth and dignity of all persons. We will not tolerate a narcissistic dictator who systematically shreds the threads of democracy and tarnishes our nation's shining reputation as a trusted world leader."
If we are true patriots and ethical persons, we must do this for our nation, for ourselves, and for our children.
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And this is not political. As an American citizen, advocate, teacher, writer, and voter I am infuriated that this man has the audacity to think he can steal what I have held so dearly all my life, the right to choose. A thing my parents literally risked their lives --and watched many be murder to secure. That's the point I think all the pundits and analysts are missing. People are outraged. Stick with the truth. Once the truth is established people will vote simply to insure Trump's downfall. And shame on anyone who opens their mouths to defend this absolute infringement on our right to matter in this country.
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I agree, and that the focus should be broad, it should be the sum of all misdeeds, not a single misdeed. It should come at him from every angle, just as from every angle he has undermined the rule of law, civil discourse, and the presidentially of the offie. I agree with the many explanations of why he can't take a punch. If we're lucky, he simply implode and force the cabinet to call him unfit in order to save itself and the rest of the Republican party.
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When his tax returns have to be released, the emperor will clearly have no clothes. “we the people” will see how this grifter has lied, under oath, and in so doing, defrauded the government and us from millions and millions of dollars. The Impeachment should hone in on three issues: 1. The (redacted) and all of the sub-categories thereunder; 2. The (redacted) and his abuses of it; and, 3. His (redacted) evasion and all of its sub-categories.
1
"We know Trump solicited the head of a foreign government to meddle in the presidential race."
"Few people who support impeachment believe Donald Trump will be removed from office."
He will be removed from office. Period.
1
The best way to get rid of Trump may be to have a psychiatric and medical evaluation declare him mentally incapacitated and therefore not able to distinguish right from wrong due to a neurological degenerative condition (Alzheimer's, dementia). Given his lack of inhibition and judgement and declining verbal skills that may not be far from the truth. He can then step down for health reasons and not be further prosecuted for both federal and state crimes, dividning the rest of his days between Trump Tower, Mar a Lago and cheating with golf.
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First, that "execute the spies for treason" comment was not a joke. He is sincerely regretful that he can't make that happen.
Second, to keep this inquiry too narrow is to lose the public. They need to be given a fuller picture so they can better understand why it is necessary. Obviously, it can't drag on forever. Like Mueller's investigation, however, to stop from following where the investigation takes you because of time constraints runs the risk of potentially covering up wrongdoing that needs to be understood by the citizens of this country.
1
Chris Rasmussen: In defense of BROOKS, his article was best in my avis" he has ever written:clear, direct, trenchant, AND, Brooks did his own research, conducted "sur le champ,"his sondages, whereas others r content to rely on secondary, tertiary sources. His point was that on a scale of priorities, impeachment was LAST, after illegal immigration, health care,border safety and the economy.If u have an empty stomach, living hand to mouth, barely able to put comestibles on the table to feed ur family and pets, impeachment, (in French,"mise en accusation,")is least of your considerations,Many could not define it and could not care less. Like a hail mary pass for Dem.Party, having witnessed complete failures of MUELLER investigation whose attorneys, friends of RM and Hillary for most part, could prove neither collusion nor obstruction of justice.Grasping at straws.Impeachment has already proved a bonanza for GOP coffers, and for once, despite the campaign of attrition of the deep state, incestuous relationship between media and Dem. Party, ice is definitely SLANTED in Trump's favor.If u were on the fence politically before Pelosi's announcement, u r in Trump's corner now. Americans believe in fair play, and given that 98 percent of articles r anti Trump, written not by real journalists, but by activists, Americans will root for the underdog. Premonition is vast majority of commenters are well to do,white , tenured teachers,living in "quartiers"not at all diverse.Trump in 2020.
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He can take a punch, he just doesn't take it well.... He has the thinnest of skins. He can barely put two sentences together in the best of times, Listening to him the last two days is surreal - I think I counted at most 5 words that were related in any kind of sentence structure.
Is that ok? Should we revisit the 25th amendment?
1
The main thing right now is not to get distracted by noise coming from Trump’s surrogates like Rep. Nunez or Sen. Graham. Don’t give these guys any oxygen. Likewise, TV camera friendly/ ready Democrat’s should be reigned in to prevent obfuscating or diluting the importance of Trumps impeachment.
As for Trump’s I ability to take a lunch, well, like all bullies, he’s a coward at heart.
The fact that the Senate may or may not convict is no reason to hesitate... the group that loves Trump precisely because he is LAWLESS is a bunch of bad apples that our country will just have to recover from. This is reminiscent of George Washington and the cherry tree.....sometimes you just have to do the, honest, moral thing, not entirely sure whether it will all turn out for the best. We just cannot let this obscene man go any longer unchecked.
1
I don’t think Trump was joking about executing people who expose him. All the despots he so admires wouldn’t hesitate to set up accidents or line up the firing squad. I hope the whistleblower has protection.
1
If the bully thinks he can Twitter his way out of his culpability in what sure seems like criminal behavior and violation of his oath of office, he may be sadly mistaken. Any reasonable person would argue this should not be possible in a land of law and order. And yet, after all that has transpired in recent years, I will not be surprised if he still gets re-elected next year!
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Nancy Pelosi MUST read this piece. Trump is undiagnosed with obvious unstable mental and emotional bouts. I concur. Keep Trump on the edge, and people will be begging for him to be thrown out of the office before he strikes the lowest of lows.
1
I didn't understand why, when Trump said on the campaign, "Russia, if you are listening, look for those 30,000 emails," that that wasn't soliciting help from a foreign government. I didn't understand why, when our intelligence agencies proved that Russia hacked our election, that there was no call for a new election. (Yes, I know we have no mechanism for that in our constitution, but there could still have been a call for political reasons), and I didn't understand why, when he didn't reveal his taxes, when he promoted his hotels, his golf courses, when he made his kids his advisors, and when he clearly not only didn't read the constitution, he didn't want to read it, that he wasn't impeached immediately. Clearly both he and Giuliani did not have enough knowledge to understand that the conversation with the Ukraine president was a violation of our laws. What does that say about both of them? About Barr and Pence? Impeachment is, in a way, a joke. They should be thrown in jail, period. I realize, all this "investigation" is necessary but in the end it is McConnell who holds ALL the power, investigation and charges or not. No vote in the Senate, 4 more years. Four more horrible, disgusting years. The base thinks he is fantastic, period.
1
One must read The Times' Op Eds the way one trims meat: lose the fat. The characterizations about "punches", the attempts at wit, and the presence at all of paid propagandists such as Mr. Buskirk, are without value. Legality and illegality are where this behind and ends. It serves Trump when these issues are characterized as stories or drama, when the defense of justice is spun as something just personal and political.
Lawfare cautioned both sides to focus on legal questions and trimmed this down to four points:
1. Obstruction of justice and abuse of law enforcement institutions and personnel;
2. Abuse of law enforcement power, specifically Trump's using his office to provoke meritless investigation and prosecution of political opponents;
3. Abuse of the president’s foreign policy authorities and misuse of Congressionally-appropriated money to induce a foreign head of state to violate the civil liberties of U.S. citizens and interfere in a presidential election;
4. Trump's efforts to obstruct or impede congressional investigations.
These are empirical and evidence-based questions, not matters of spin, Trump's boorishness, Tweets, jokes, stand-up comedy, metaphors, clever writing or who pays your mortgage. What isn't fact isn't useful.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/so-you-want-impeach-president?fbclid=IwAR2rv_TE0vYhH6oeCqAsITI3a1Qi_auIxhJKcgYbZqPPV-yAwrc9frkAeqw
1
I love Jamelle - this is spot on - force the Senate to vote "Are you really ok with this behaviour?" and let them run on the answer they give.
1
Most Americans believe that they can do whatever they wish because the constitution gives them permission....no matter if what they do is moral or immoral, decent or indecent, or right or wrong. With this kind of total freedom the future will have no need of prisons, law enforcement agencies, nor law books. Why? Because if the law allows you to do what you want, then there is no wrong you can do.
Blessed are those who do not see yet believe. To those who believe in His name: who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The one thing Trump does extremely well is deflect, obfuscate and confuse with his rambling, disjointed speech patterns. He always hedges, never locks in. It’s as though he’s constantly sitting for deposition and has learned how to non- answer in a way that makes a transcript unusable. TheUkraine call is one of the rare instances where we can pin him dead to rights. If he’d only mumbled and rambled a little more we’d again be picking through his mushy word salad to prove what is plain to everyone to see - he’s a two-bit crook.
1
“Once again, the Democrats, their media mouthpieces and a cabal of leakers are ginning up a fake story, with no regard to the monumental damage they’re causing to our public institutions and to trust in government" -- Representative Devin Nunes
If that isn't that pot calling the kettle black, then I don't know what is. Nunes must practice these lines in front of a mirror because it's as if he's speaking to himself.
1
" A broad, wide-ranging investigation — a series of methodical, Watergate-style open hearings — keeps the president’s corruption and wrongdoing in view..."
Yes, with emphasis on methodical; no crescendos.
1
"And if I’m right, and impeachment sends Trump into new lows (he has already joked about executing spies), then Democrats might help themselves next November by taking this inquiry as far as it can go."
His "joke" about executing spies was his waspy version of warning "snitches get stitches". You might compare it to "will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest" but he has too guilty of a mind to say something so explicit as he knows he could never sell the idea it was hyperbole.
1
The spineless Senate will never fulfill its constitutional obligation to hold the executive branch to account, so the House should conduct its hearings in the open, with a fill-throated cry to the American people to serve as jury and judge. The ballot box in November 2020 is the most powerful gavel justice can wield.
1
So, people are urging CAUTION in running against the worst president in our history?
Against a sociopathic, authoritarian president, in a nation with a constitution and Bill of Rights.
For years his lies have piled up into the thousands.
He's cares more for foreign dictators than for his country.
He's obviously in it for the money.
Now a whistle blower, so fed up, has finally exposed him with concrete explicit undeniable evidence, while he and his enforcers deny plain reality on the media.
This unstable, paranoid president in total denial, puts out multiple daily irrational, combative tweets. And indirectly threaten violence --saying, 'what we used to do to spies'.
Yet still the OPPOSING PARTY has to tread CAREFULLY? That if Dems, even with several good candidates, do keep exposing this criminal's actions as they run for office to defeat him, it may have the opposite effect and defeat THEM?
A movie COULD be made out of this someday, but would have to be a cartoon fantasy, or it would be hooted down as too far out and unrealistic.
1
Trump will be his own worst enemy as impeachment hearings unfold. His erratic behavior will continue to provide evidence for lawless and unethical indiscretions that will expose Trump’s complete disregard for Democracy and his cruel leanings toward autocracy.
1
Donald Trump does thrive on chaos but only chaos that he directs and controls.
Trump is learning rather after the fact that Nancy Pelosi does have intelligence, determination and power that she does not yield to him. He can't direct the impeachment inquiry, only respond and that sets him off kilter. We can expect the usual from Trump - complete stonewalling. It will work only to a point. The answer to the question of 'How far are you willing to go to support Trump' is being strained to the breaking point. Real consequences for perjury or noncooperation are now available. Blind loyalty going in one direction does not sit well in the face of legal fees and punishment. Even the loyal sycophants know that Trump will dump them like garbage if they do not perform as HE wants.
The saddest part of all this so far is that Trump and his followers think the shake-down phone call asking for foreign interference in our 2020 election is just fine. "Perfect".
1
Trump is a typical bully - attacking and insulting others out of his own fear. He reacts to challenge by doing whatever he can to protect himself. Often that involves trying to place the blame for disaster on other people. Giuliani should consider breaking with Trump before Trump targets him as the scapegoat for everything. Because of his extreme focus on himself, Trump is very much impaired in ability to imagine how others see him. He has no idea how lame he looks when saying the Bidens did this and that but providing no actual evidence. He could first get a competent lawyer to review all the things he's done and those that we don't even know about, then pardon himself for them. The smart move would then be to resign and move to some country without extradition agreements with the US. Someplace with golf courses. But Trump is not smart, and is in fact greatly hampered by his unjustified belief that he is "a stable genius."
1
Here’s a scenario that occurred to me as a possibility:
The well known thin skinned president decides he’s not going to submit to any impeachment minded Democrats’ demands and resigns by tweet which stated how very unfairly he has been treated and the country doesn’t deserve his wonderfulness. He says in the following tweet he has a fantastic life to return to where he made lots of money and lived a life others could only dream of, in a home much nicer than the White House.
President Pastor Pence ascends to the office and when his own culpability starts to be investigated, he departs.
Voila! We’ve never had a President Nancy.
1
The more cornered Trump feels, the nastier he becomes. The 2020 election, against the backdrop of impeachment, will be a bloody mess. He’s already desperate, as his reaction to the whistleblower clearly shows. No telling what he’ll do now, but I wouldn’t rule out a military action against Iran (or California) just to distract voters from how truly small-minded and pathetic he is.
Let’s hope the purgatory we’re about to endure is worth it in the end.
1
What is a patriot? A patriot is a person who puts the interests of his country above the interests of his or her party and personal fortune. That is the opposite of a patriot? A traitor is the opposite of a of a patriot.
When your moral, ethical, legal are clear, where oaths have been ignored, and your duty is clear, there is no middle ground except cringing cowardess, and when the time for action arrives must be counted along with the traitors.
When our country and all that has made it great is under attack by hostile nations and home grown traitors seeking to destroy our democratic form of government and tamper with majority rule and the notion that government belongs to the people and not just rich, white, racists, there can be no fence sitting.
We have a corrupt criminal mob boss who believes that he is above the law. He is a traitor, a bribe taker and totally lawless and will be impeached because the House has a majority of patriots.
In the GOP majority Senate where a 2/3 vote is needed to convict there are 20 GOP votes needed to reach that goal. Are the 20 Republicans who always put party first and are not patriots over the course of the hearings decide just for once to become patriots? Maybe there is life after Trump and president Pense is looking better.
1
Trump was very likely motivated by politics if he indeed withheld military aid to Ukraine in exchange for Kiev launching an investigation into Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden, though the transcript of the call released by the White House between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelinsky does not make certain such a quid-pro-quo. What’s not being talked about in the mainstream is the context of this story, which shows that politics aside, Biden should indeed be investigated in both Ukraine and in the United States. We know from the leaked, early 2014 telephone conversation between Victoria Nuland, then assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, and Geoffrey Pyatt, then U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, that then-Vice President Biden played a role in assisting the U.S.-backed overthrow of an elected Ukrainian government soon after that conversation. That’s the biggest crime in this story that isn’t being told. The illegal overthrow of a sovereign government. As booty from the coup, the sitting vice president’s son, Hunter Biden, soon got a seat on the board of Ukraine’s biggest gas producer, Burisma Holdings. This can only be seen as a transparently neocolonial maneuver to take over a country and install one’s own people. But Biden’s son wasn’t the only one.
Here's my thoughts on Sir Trump The Disastrous and Washington politics in general:
The Republican Party spent $30 million of taxpayer money on the Clinton Benghazi/Cell Phone investigation. President Trump, so far, tallied up $83 million of taxpayer money on golf outings. On the other side of the isle, the Mueller investigation cost us around $32 million. Meanwhile almost nothing has been accomplished in our government and American taxpayers are fed up with the eternal bickering. The big question: why aren’t taxpayers revolting over taxation without representation?
Humanity is faced with survival challenges that are formidable and incomprehensible like the failure of free-market economic system, the degradation of our national security and international standing and the biggest threat of all, climate change.
Humanity will most likely face extinction around the end of this century if we don’t cut carbon emissions to zero in the next thirty years. If we fail to do that, climate change will destroy the free market system, food and water supplies, civil society as we know it and create the largest population of refugees the world has ever seen. Americans will not be exempt. What we see today with the desperate South Americans crossing our boarders is a prelude of what’s to come on a global level.
If Trump stays in power and continues to spew carbon, that's enough reason to get him out.
100% agreement. This is how to treat Trump and Republicans.
2
Hear, hear! Beautifully expressed and you are as right as rain...you hit the ball out of the park!
2
I cannot seem to find any photo credit for the extraordinary photographs in this week's Opinion section. Bravo to the photographers.
1
Excellent article, Mr. Bouie, and thank you for going into so many diverse details of the impeachment question.
2
The Democrats have to investigate this President and his obvious lawbreaking. What has to stressed by the House leader to the Dems in the House, is that this is not a time to be looking for publicity or face time in front of the cameras. This is deadly serious stuff for the country and the best investigators and prosecutors in the party should be asking most of the questions. Make the very best case that can be made. doing that, if this impeachment inquiry then backfires on them, that is on the voters and the Republicans.
1
Only time will tell as it always does. Journalism has reached the point where it is only believed by those who agree with the story. It further drives the wedge the forces the extremist’s further apart. Trump could resign and then run again and probably win with the help of the current democrats running for the office of President. Trump has a great political base which only votes when he is on the ballot-thus the change in the House in 2018. The way it is heading now his base will be out for 2020.
This is an excellent piece. I have always believed Trump would be not just impeached, but removed from office. He is just too crazily corrupt. But this bit: “I think you should ask for Vice President Pence’s conversation, because he had a couple of conversations also,” Trump said at a news conference during the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York on Wednesday. is much bigger than what most people realize. Trump is setting up Pence, because republicans might remove him, if it meant Pence was president, but much fewer republicans will vote to remove him if it means Nancy Pelosi becomes president.
Throwing Pence under the bus was Trump's insurance against removal from office.
1
I believe that Democrats and Republicans in Congress face the same choice: to act decisively to preserve and defend the Constitution as they have sworn they would, or do what they think is necessary to get re-elected and enhance their party's power. Impeachment opens a careful inquiry. It allows the nation and the rest of the world to hear the questions and evaluate the answers.
If this president has not entirely undermined people's trust in our government and its agencies, then impeachment -- however it ends -- might let in some light during a very dark time. We are in a morass of corruption, callous manipulation of everything from the health of our environment to the treatment of little children at our southern border, and destabilization of world peace and our relationships with our allies. Inhumane, scorched-earth policies and impulsive decision-making have created misery and anger at home and abroad that will come back to us in the form of terrorism from those we have abused and mistrust on the part of those we have betrayed.
However impeachment ends, the damage done by this administration will be with us for many years. But a full and public inquiry could help to limit its extent and its duration. I hope that our elected legislators will look beyond their own futures in politics and enter into this process with the future of their constituents and their nation as their first concern.
2
The optics nor the politics matter. Even if he doesn't have to leave before his term is up, the law says he needs to be impeached now and there is no way around it. I mean besides the fact that he is working to alter the outcome of the next election. The country does not have a way to defend against that. If he is not removed, he may well win by more chicanery. Finally, having no choice may be the steel that strengthens more spines.
2
This editorial falls into the Republican talking points.
The significant abuse of power was withholding defensive arms for a country currently under attack by Russian supported troops within that country, though Congress had appropriated the money, unless the country aided Trump in attacking his political opponents. Do not get into the morass of wheter opposition research is a thing of value under the campaign finance laws - that is what Barr want you to do.
1
It does not matter whether Democrats help themselves with this inquiry.
The investigation; and Articles of Impeachment if sufficient evidence is discovered to support impeachment, is necessary because of the Constitution. Trump could have avoided this investigation, and allegations of improper behavior, by being more open, more cooperative with Congress's oversight function, and more 'non-Trumpian' in his administration and his behavior.
But Trump, being Trump. the lifelong con man grifter that he is, has been milking the presidency for everything he can for himself, and with his self-focus on personal aggrandizement and power Trump ignored both the traditions and norms of our democracy, and the laws and Constitution of our country.
So this impeachment inquiry; and Articles of Impeachment (if supported by the evidence found) are necessary "to faithfully uphold and support the laws and Constitution of the United States". The Democrats have no choice - either hold this inquiry, or ignore Trump's actions and join the Republicans in abrogating their oaths of office.
5
The reason he threw Pence under the bus is because he is desperate to get reelected and avoid prison. If he takes Pence with him, he knows the Senate will not vote to get rid of both Trump and Pence because they would not want a President Pelosi.
3
Questions have been raised regarding the Democrats currently in competition for the party nomination. I am ambivalent about whether or not impeachment should be part of the discussion. I prefer that these candidates compete on their own merits. I don't know if moving on impeachment will help us or hurt us but a reaction and investigations must happen. My take on our current political jousting tournaments center on visions of the future rather than on the obvious criminality of the president. I believe that the central questions today center on race and economic visions. It is inevitable that whites will be a minority in a couple of decades and that those wishing to preserve the racial status quo are on the losing side. A minority of whites want to prevail whatever it takes.
I am so happy that I signed up for Mr. Bouie's newsletter. He is a learned and incredible journalist. I love the recipes too!
"Romney and Sasse are ... are hedging their bets."
Ah, that's what I like to see: enough courage to proudly sit on the fence, ready to jump to either side, depending on how events unfold. That's true lukewarm patriotism. In other words, I'm unhappy if you're unhappy, Mr. and Ms. America. The lack of political ethics and moral cowardice have found a congenial home in Washington, D.C.
4
Criticism of Trump’s threat to execute spies is included only as an aside in this piece, but I think it merits more attention, especially because he wasn’t really talking about spies, even if he used that word; he was talking about legitimate, law-abiding whistleblowers. Those are the folks Trump alluded to (with no subtlety) as being spies, and deserving of execution. That’s highly disturbing, even if par for the course with this president.
4
For the good of the country.
Sometimes these words are bantered about, and maybe too much. However, never has there been a time, since Nixon, that these words have desperate meaning. We have a rogue administration, president and vice president in the White House which is inflicting damage as each hour goes by.
So, for the good of the country, Donal Trump, Mike Pence and his administration need to resign. Putting the country through a protracted impeachment process will only splinter the country more.
While we know that Trump will never do the country a favor, no his vice president and nor will his administration.Thus, we Americans will watch, in slow motion, the unmaking of a president. It will not be pretty. It will not be as clean as what happened with Nixon. It is going to be a dirty, nasty fight from the White House, the courts with law suits, and the media (liberal vs conservative), nasty ads, lobbyists in over drive and both political parties at each other throats. Not to mention blogs full of trolls dissing each other.
In the end, rule of law will prevail. However, who picks up the pieces is going to have a very difficult time of it. Not only trying to undo the damage inflicted by Trump, but will also have to deal with day to day issues and a Congress that will be more partisan than ever.
Mr. Trump, for the good of the country; please resign.
3
This is just a reaction to the headline, but in my lifetime, and I'm over seventy, I have never seen a nation which has endured the abuse, the attacks, the sheer, irrational hatred as reported by the press, aired on TV and posted on Twitter that the citizens of the United States have suffered from President Trump -- and I was around for Nixon, too
6
This is ridiculous.
It was known that there had been involvement of Ukraine related people as well as of Ukrainian officials in Russiagate and the election campaigns:
Ukrainian government officials tried to help Hillary Clinton and undermine Trump by publicly questioning his fitness for office. They also disseminated documents implicating a top Trump aide in corruption and suggested they were investigating the matter, only to back away after the election. And they helped Clinton’s allies research damaging information on Trump and his advisers, a Politico investigation found.
How deep where these involvements? Are there Ukrainian sources in the debunked Steele dossier about Trump?
There was also the mysterious fact that just three weeks after the U.S. managed 2014 coup in Ukraine, in which Joe Biden as then U.S. vice-president was heavily involved, Joe Biden's son Hunter started to receive more that $50,000 per month for being on the board of a Ukrainian gas company even though he had no knowledge of the gas business or the Ukraine.
Trump can reasonably argue that investigations in the Ukraine into both issues are in the US public interest.
Did Ukrainian officials interfere in the 2016 election by creating or hyping the debunked Russiagate affair and by supporting the Clinton campaign? Alleged Russian interference in the election was a big issue. Why is Ukrainian interference not of interest?
Has the US public an interest in knowing the answers to these questions?
I think so.
2
Politics is a game. That's not a pejorative. Most of life is. The Trump administration is a house of cards.
Nancy Pelosi, as the big bad wolf, will blow, and does anyone believe Trump is a wise little pig? His house is straw.
Republicans know this. They've been bluffing, and some can barely keep a straight face. Lindsay Graham must be the world's worst poker player.
There's a very good chance this administration will collapse in a heap of recriminations. Talk about circular firing squads.
Republican talking heads claim this is bad for America, bad for Democrats. The only thing it's bad for is the stock market. Impeachment and its aftermath will upset things. That's not bad.
In 6 or 8 months, pundits will write "It's incredible to remember that back in Sept, Biden was in front, Warren coming up fast, Sanders third. That was before the Trump administration imploded. Now it's all about X and Y."
Fill in the blanks. Romney and Jeb Bush. Buttigieg and Oprah. John Kerry and Hillary Clinton. Who knows.
We're at the top of the hill in a giant slalom, just out of the gate. Concentrate on one gate ahead.
1
Anyone who grew up in the tri state area knows the type Trump personifies. I can’t use the popular term from back then, it’s politically incorrect. Grifter is the closest I can come.
2
Mr Buskirk's article is just another piece of evidence of the moral black hole that the republican party is.
You do the right thing because it is right, not because of the reward you imagine you may get.
1
The phrase “high crimes and misdemeanors” doesn’t do full justice to Trump.
I think that if the Framers had included the words “evil and nutty President,” the justification for his impeachment would be a lot clearer now.
5
Trump and his supporters are throwing millions of dollars into social media ads to propagandize against his accusers. If he were innocent, wouldn't they be spending millions of dollars on lawyers and research to prove he had done nothing wrong? Being the loudest voice in the room is going to prove nothing. So far the facts are trumping Trump.
4
This is the short fingered vulgarian ‘Roy Cohen’ strategy.
Deflect on to your opponents that which you are accused of.
This will work for maintaining his loyal devotees. This is their red meat they can chew on as they lose their farms their jobs, their healthcare, their homes...blame Obama, Clinton, people from south of the border etc...they will never question their short fingered vulgarian.
We don’t need to think about changing their minds.
Waste of time and energy.
We who love democracy and all its promises, just need to keep our eyes on the facts that a president of the USA asked a ‘favor’ of a foreign leader to investigate a political opponent before a presidential election.
Remember the Watergate hotel break-in and Nixon’s roll in getting info on the Democrats just before that election???
He resigned before getting impeached.
2
The best way to get rid of Trump may be to have a psychiatric and medical evaluation declare him mentally incapacitated and therefore not able to distinguish right from wrong due to a neurological degenerative condition (Alzheimer's, dementia). Given his lack of inhibition and judgement and declining verbal skills that may not be far from the truth. He can then step down for health reasons and not be further prosecuted for both federal and state crimes, dividning the rest of his days between Trump Tower, Mar a Lago and cheating with golf.
1
My question is don't Republicans look forward to a day that they don't have to carry Trumps water. When they can return to the party of true conservatism, small deficits and responsible spending? Whats wrong with right now?
1
In his comment, John Pettimore shows why they are people we will never reach. He only reads the headlines; he doesn't think about the implications of what he writes; and he ignores that FOX has reporters (as opposed to propagandists masquerading as entertainers) that criticize Trump too. But we can't let them run the government. We can't let them chose whether to impeach somebody, especially as more facts come out to show that he places his own interest in front of the country's (allegedly telling Russia ambassador after firing Comey that he doesn't care about election interference.) Impeach if the facts support. History and the country's welfare demands it.
9
Ben Sasse and Mott Romney speaking up says volumes
There will be many more Senators jumping the Republican Senate ship within the next several weeks
This will end up being an Impeachment Trial in the end.
The American public is on board right now.
Who will the next Republican Senator to speak up?
I think Sudan Collins
1
It's high time to finally end the system of legalized corruption that this country's government has become. If this episode doesn't result in the removal of the entire crimnal cartel, than we are doomed.
4
We must move forward with impeachment. There is ample evidence that the President and his criminal cronies have broken multiple laws and sorely tested the Constitution, and there is so much more to find out. What is on that secret server? Who is else is involved in these cover-ups? We must root out the corruption, hold bad actors accountable, and defend the Constitution and rule of law (as another commenter said).
3
This, to me, is the most relevant response to those who believe the answer is to wait until the election to vote Trump out: "The speaker would have preferred to send Trump packing at the ballot box. But since he keeps contaminating the ballot box..."
The issue is that Trump is using his power to try to contaminate the election, to rig it in his favour. He tried to extort an ally. Who knows what he's said to other leaders?
This really can't go on.
7
If you let it go on, his next targets will be any one who stands in his way. This could be any of the democratic candidates especially those in the lead or Republicans who may stand up for this impeachment inquiry. He is a tyrant who must be stopped and without that realization you join the ranks of his enablers.
2
All of these events would appear to weaken Trump and the GOP politically for the November 2020 election.
Notwithstanding, does it seem likely that a Bernie Sanders or an Elizabeth Warren would win a majority of the electoral college
in 2020?
2
I agree that the Democrats will have to eventually expand their impeachment inquiry. The items in the second last paragraph are just as important.
1
While I agree with much in Bouie's column, the fact that one as center-right as David Brooks can't see that impeachment is necessary, regardless of the House's moral obligation to do so, should diminish any hope that moderates in the Senate will support the House. Politics may indeed replace morality.
3
Noah Rothman and Michael Steele are also trying to discourage the Dems from voting to impeach Trump. They're trying to suggest a vote will backfire and urge voters to rally around Trump because it's "unfair." That's a Trump talking point. The folks who now call themselves "independent" -- normal, sane, moderate Republicans who abhor Trump -- will be instrumental in saving the country.
2
This is just a reaction to the headline, but in my lifetime, and I'm closing in on being sixty, I have never seen a President who has endured the abuse, the attacks, the sheer, irrational hatred in the press that President Trump has. Not even Nixon, at the height of the Watergate scandal -- and I was around for that -- was vilified this way. The idea that he can't take a punch is another partisan lie. I have never seen a President take so many punches.
20
All I can say is that I have never seen a President in my lifetime (and 60 is in the rearview mirror for me) who earned the vilification that the current President has. Like Trump, Nixon was indeed a political crook. But he gave us the EPA, ended the draft, opened the door to sports for women with Title IX, and was the first President to give Native Americans the right to tribal self-determination by ending the policy of forced assimilation and returning their sacred lands. One might even say Nixon left us with more than he took from the presidency. The same cannot be said for Trump.
29
Everything you say makes sense except the word “irrational.”
Presented with a hypothetical description of a Trump-like President five years ago, virtually no senator or representative would defend the conduct we’ve seen. Even when he was running for office, he had few defenders. Only when Republicans have come to see the political cost in opposing him have they begun twisting themselves to avoid the obvious. But when he leaves office that will change. When history is written he will again have few defenders.
8
I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment that Trump gets a lot of headwind. Only that I can't see any "irrational hate" here. The permanent criticism is grounded in very rational and serious concerns. Since Trump is reveling in the provocation of outrage non-stop, he shouldn't be complaining about it actually happening. It's entirely of his own making.
8
Mr. Dodgson is frighteningly correct. This will be the beginning of an all-out war by the far right against the rule of law. God help us all.
6
The best way may be to have a psychiatric and medical evaluation declare him mentally incapacitated and therefore not able to distinguish right from wrong due to a neurological degenerative condition (Alzheimer's, dementia). Given his lack of inhibition and judgement and declining verbal skills that may not be far from the truth. He can then step down for health reasons and not be further prosecuted for both federal and state crimes, dividning the rest of his days between Trump Tower, Mar a Lago and cheating with golf.
4
It is interesting to see Sasse and Romney peep out the tiniest doubt about Trump, when they see impeachment looming and need time to see which way the wind blows. Trouble is, when it comes down to a hard vote, they all kneel at his feet.
6
The ONLY thing impeachment by the House will do is infuriate Trump further. He knows Obama was never close to being impeached and that makes him less of man in his own opinion. We need to elect senators who will impeach any president or Supreme Court Justice based solely on the merits of the case.
2
Obama was never anywhere near a dereliction of his oath of office. Furthermore, no member of his family was anywhere near a scandal. Ever. The two presidents could not be more different from each other.
1
Obama never did anything to be impeached for. Donnie, however, is a wrecking crew. BUT I do not want Pence as President.
Trump kept calling for Obama's impeachment but there was nothing to impeachment Obama for. Trump has filled the score card with impeachable offenses. I have followed government daily for over 50 years. This is worse than Nixon. We are now a joke on the world state. Infuriate Trump. Someone has to stand up to this liar.
Bring Al Franken back! He is one of the best questioners in Congress, his help would be priceless.
9
I disagree that Democrats should pile on as many charges as possible treating it as a political exercise for political advantage. They will lose public support quickly if that is the public perception. Rather they should follow Pelosi's brilliant leadership move forward on the strongest allegation. They should be taking this action reluctantly but as their constitutional obligation, but move forward with all deliberate speed without dragging it out for political gain. Impeachment is the same whether based on 1 allegation or 5.
3
Congress has let Trump step over every line in the sand, and every time this happens it weakens us as a nation. The politics don't matter. The President must be held accountable for his behavior in office, or America will suffer for it.
4
Completely agree - although the next Trump move is likely to engage the "deep state" conspiracy theory. The reports that the whistleblower is a CIA analyst virtually guarantee that.
I only wish that all the whistleblowers subject to Obama persecution under the Espionage Act - including Manning, Assange, and Snowden - got this kind of support by media and the Democrats.
5
Imho Assange has forfeited his credibility in the run up to the 2016 election.
2
Trump is a bully who dishes out insults, slanders, and nasty nick names with alacrity, BUT HE CAN'T TAKE A PUNCH. Now that he released the 'smoking gun' transcript of his most recent conversation with the Ukrainian president, which dove tails exquisitely with the whistleblower's detailed report, Trump can only tweet and bluster.
As someone who was on the Nixon White House Enemies List, the current situation seems like deja vu. THe basic facts are clear and impeachable. The detailed investigations and hearings will fill in the lurid details. A growing majority of the American public will be appalled by Trump's crass actions that gave priority to his personal political witch hunt over core American national interests
I can not predict whether, as with Watergate, Republicans in Congress will ultimately acknowledge the gravity of Trump's grave misdeeds. Their choice is between fulfilling their obligations to the Constitution and the American
people or hanging on to the tenuous Trump,electoral bandwagon.
84
In a sense, it doesn't matter what Republicans in Congress really think. In this country, you cannot convict a President in the Senate unless there is strong support among the citizenry. In the case of Clinton, there wasn't, even though he committed a felony. Right now, a great many citizens are willing to let Trump off the hook. The argument is: what he did WAS in the national interest. He was trying to prevent America from electing a crooked "swamp" politician, Biden. He wasn't asking the Ukrainians to create an internet troll operation or anything like that, just investigate Biden on their end. For many Americans, that is OK, or at least standard operating procedure among politicians. Not enough to remove Trump from office. It's not MY position or argument, but, unless additional damning material is uncovered, it may be enough to save Trump, and to get him re-elected. The Democrats are taking on a grave risk.
"Democrats don’t actually have a choice. They have to impeach, regardless of the politics, regardless of where it leads. They have to hold Trump accountable, both on the merits and to set an example for future presidents."
Yes. This is an American heartbreak.
Democrats need to stick to fact finding and enlist skilled minds to help them. Leave the comedy relief and gloating to the Late Night Hosts. (I'm speaking to you, Adam Schiff.)
Republicans need to get a grip and handle the truth. We have been betrayed by our President. Sadly, this is unlikely the first time.
5
Absolutely agree Jamelle, Democrats have no choice but to impeach. Failure to impeach, especially for electoral reasons, makes them no better than the Republicans propping up Trump and ignoring his high crimes & misdemeanors to advance partisan interests, regardless of how it impacts our country. To paraphrase Dante’ - The hottest places in hell are reserved for those politicians who in times of moral crisis, maintain their partisanship.
4
Politicians wet a finger and stick it in the air to determine which way the wind blows. When a storm blows in, they can reorient really quickly. This is my interpretation of Boule's commentary.
This is a criminal investigation that will unfold and be resolved politically.
The Democrats would be wise to go forward slowly and meticulously with their investigation, extending a wide ranging inquiry well into next year, then choose to bypass the Senate altogether and let the voters decide in November 2020 who should be president.
3
It just occurred to me that Trump not having his Roy Cohn is why he ended up with Rudy Giuliani, a half baked Roy Cohn that doesn’t come close to Cohns effectiveness.
The obvious screw ups from Trump since he was elected are not just because of his ineptness. They are a result of his bumbling staff choices.
Trump is right about Cohn being gone to him. Cohn was the best thing that ever happened to Trump. Roy helped Trump through numerous questionable deals, bankruptcies, and lawsuits.
If we’re patient Trump will implode during the impeachment investigation and finally sink himself like the Titanic.
3
1-Really competent people tend to be smart enough to sense disaster in working for Trump, so they never take the job or they leave early
2-Trump has chosen staff mainly on their willingness to obey without question, which for Trump means lying as needed. Some of these people have already been caught in their lies.
3-We may see a very awkward phase in which Trump starts off-loading blame to everyone around him, as well as to his usual suspects, Obama, Hillary, Democrats etc. I expect Trump will as usual provide no documentation or other evidence of the supposed crimes of other people. He may behave like Nixon and start offering his closest associates as sacrifical victims. Who will be the new Haldemann and Erlichman?
When a president has so blatantly and now publicly attempted to cheat at an election, an impeachment inquiry is the ONLY option. It's an inquiry whereby the House can obtain documents, testimony, and irrefutable facts, and it is the only way to obtain them due to the fact that this administration has blocked all other access. In this sense alone, Trump has brought this inquiry on himself. The notion that an inquiry to uncover facts will automatically result in a vote to impeach is unfortunate. The facts should speak for themselves.
An assumption that the House should not do what is necessary, lawful, and spelled out by the Constitution to obtain facts is inexplicable and indefensible. Tragically, the assumption that the Republican-majority Senate will ignore facts and evidence and vote party-over-country is pessimistic if not realistic, based on past and current behavior. However, if the facts call for impeachment and the Senate chooses party over country, Americans should know this explicitly, and we should know this before the election so we may make our judgement known.
If crybaby/bullying tactics are enough to decide an election or to dissuade us from seeking facts and acting accordingly, just what do we expect? More importantly, what would we deserve?
2
George Orwell said: "If people elect a corrupt leader, they are not victims, they are complicit"
It doesn't matter whether Trump can "take a punch" or not. This thing is out of his hands. We know that his reaction will be the usual lies, insults and buffoonery. So what? The real question is: do the Democrats have the goods on him, and will the majority of the public condemn him enough to agree that he should be removed from office? So far, it isn't clear. I hate to tell Mr. Bouie and others, but many Americans aren't too scandalized by the request that Trump made to the Ukrainians. They think of it as standard operating procedure among corrupt politicians (i.e., all politicians). This whole thing could be Mueller/Kavanaugh all over again: outrage among liberals, a shrug across the nation.
3
I believe the behavior is SOP among certain politicians and multinationals (is there a difference?). Trump’s problem is he thinks real life is like the movies. He has no one saying “Dude, this is the government- people are listening and watching every microsecond”. The man thinks he’s all alone and manipulating the world. In reality, Spectre wouldn’t let him park cars.
1
Exactly! The Dems want the republicans to do their job and defend the country against a lawless Trump. How can they expect the republicans to make the hard choice if they don't make the hard choice to impeach themselves.
2
Just what is the point of bringing up Pres. Clinton's impeachment. No comparison here. Clinton had a little indiscretion with little miss nobody. Clinton is a highly educated Rhodes Scholar. And what do we have in the Oval Office now, a highly incompetent, not well educated bully who is so insecure he must resort to name calling. He is so desperate he must reach out to foreign countries to dig up dirt on his opponents. His lack of respect and ignorance for our Constitution is unbelievable. He is not above the law, even though he thinks he can do whatever he wants. In spite of what he wants, ( president for life ) his days are numbered. We will be rid of this highly corrupt administration snd then put our house back in order.
6
This is why the dems should not base impeachment on the Trump affairs and pay-offs, albeit that those acts seemed to have violated campaign finance laws and perhaps tax laws. The Ukraine escapaded examplifies abuse of power and failure to act in the interest of the nation. Also, the back story is that putting pressure on Ukraine is good for Putin. Do not go down the campaign law violation rabbit hole.
The Republicans always bring up Clinton so they can show how CLEAN they are. But they are dirty. The wash is coming out now. Trump had his own affairs but the Republicans ignore that because it is to their benefit. Two faced, all of them. And disgusting.
Is there any question what the Republicans would have done in the same situation? Get on with it
4
We have to preserve our democracy. Trump obtained Russian help. This is definitely illegal. He has never had to answer for any of his crimes. He must be impeached. I don't understand the religious right sticking by him. He is a disgrace to this country and to God.
6
Some analysts have suggested that evangelicals see Trump as a flawed instrument, but sent by God to get rid of abortion, and therefore they can overlook his personally unappealing characteristics.
This episode also makes his denials of conspiring with Putin less credible. So for the wobbly among his supporters who have believed his witch hunt nonsense, this may be a game changer. If he's done something this egregious twice, what else has he done?
3
Having experienced two of the three previous Impeachment actions as a functioning adult, I have never perceived Impeachment as a political tool “that tears the country apart”.
Totally non-partisan when it comes to corruption and tyrannical abuses of powers, I view Impeachment as the remedy it is designed to be in the Constitution and a duty Congress must fulfill.
Our Founding ideas and values - Equality and empathy for individual Rights, Freedoms, and Liberties - comprise a unique governing philosophy enshrined in the Constitution, a framework to protect against tyranny and to protect the individual. Even the Founders knew their initial product was imperfect and left room for change they knew would be inevitable. The ideas and values are perfect; they are the essence of patriotism and worth fighting for to achieve “a more perfect Union” and to preserve.
Those rejecting these ideas and values encourage a tyrant and a free society cannot coexist with tyranny. Some kid themselves because of their devotion to a powerful political party, ideology, or President, they will be somehow exempt from predictable consequences. No one is exempt from tyranny. Our Founders knew this; they went to great pains to structure Separation of Powers and a System of Checks and Balances of congressional oversight. If Congress fails in its duties, our free society fails.
Both political parties in Congress in the House and Senate should take their constitutional duty seriously.
7
I have a visual of how this could play out. A surfer is catching a huge wave which is this first impeachable offense. The swells behind this wave are developing into waves that could be as big as the one currently being ridden toward shore.
I want to know how the other investigations are developing at the same time as I’m riding the wave. Imagine the pressure on the current administration if the progress of each committee was reported as an addendum to the current impeachment proceedings. To know the status of each concurrent investigation, to watch as the waves grow larger, will increase the expectations of some and the dread of others. Some surfers will be overwhelmed by the eventual size of the waves. But those that are prepared know they have the ability to ride any of the waves into shore.
He's more like a fisherman who's been warned that they have fished too close to the protected area. Now, the fisherman has been caught red handed in the middle of the protected zone. His boat, his fishing rig in the water.
On balance, this should all work out just fine for Mr. Trump. And almost as good for Ms. Warren.
First, it provides the perfect opportunity to ditch the doddering Mr. Biden. What would his campaign slogan be if he somehow gets the nomination: "Elect Joe Biden -- Hunter Biden needs another foreign no-show job"?
Second, the Progressive obsession with impeachment subsumes all other issues. Gone are any interest in (a) climate change and the saintly Greta; (b) impeaching Kavanaugh; (c) Trump's alleged racism (remember the 1619 project?); (d) illegal immigrants; and (e) the Democrat-predicted recession. To say nothing of Warren's desire to increase regulations, eliminate your health care insurance, and tawhatever she can. Instead, the American voters will be asked to ponder the significance of a 10 minute phone call with someone in the Ukraine about the $50,000 a month that Hunter Biden got for sitting in on Board meetings that were being conducted in the Ukrainian language.
You tell me who's going to win in 2020.
Ah. Most people and as matter of fact the world don’t see it like you do. I don’t see Bidens son who never ran for an office, how his business is a scandal considering how corrupt Trump and his family and , associates are. Trump is real good at twisting facts or sometimes just make things up and then repeat it over and over until some people start to believe it. It’s obvious who is more corrupt. If all you listen to is the Right media your perception of the world and truth are fantasy and result of propaganda
Trump’s war on competence & integrity: How to run a government or state-to-state relationships based on “private" scheming between the president, his friend/lawyer and a corrupt attorney general or the Art of the Utterly Corrupt Steal. Surely Trump will admit wrong doing & accept the kind of punishment he thinks it “smart” to dole out to others.
1
I am gobsmacked by how much Trump’s presidency has already destroyed rational political thought in your country. If, in the first few days of the Mueller investigation, a memorandum of a phone call between Putin and Trump had emerged, wherein Trump had explicitly sought Putin’s assistance in investigating Hillary Clinton, trump’s presidency would have ende within days and, given his other obvious crimes, the man would presently be in prison. Today, the Republicans circle the wagons and bray about no explicit quid pro quo, maintaining, I guess, that while the gun might be smoking it was really only firing blanks, right? Your nation, in less than three short years has devolved into absurdity.
15
It would be poltitcal theater to not impeach Trump based on his threats to the Ukainian president. It would be acknwoledging the fact that Trump is selling us all down the river. Trump is trying to corrupt the next election by colluding and threatening a foreign leader. That is pretty serious stuff. No question that impeachment should move forward.
2
Trump's strategy throughout his life is to first buy with other people's money, cheat, then lie, then stall, and when all else fails, default. This works in real estate, until it doesn't and no banks will provide loans. This brings in Russians who cannot otherwise spend their wealth. Trump is happy to help, problem solved.
But the 'stall and default' tactic cannot work in this impeachment proceeding. There is urgency about this particular act because it is an attack on the 2020 election and it can be seen as an attack on our national security (coincidentally weakening our ally and strengthening Russia).
The cases for campaign finance illegality, and using the office of the president to coerce a foreign government to prosecute a political opponent are very strong. The subversion of government through coercion of countless officers of the government (i.e., the cover-up) is also apparent and strong. Trump's tool box for handling this case is dwindling to two options: the first is jury tampering, although the Senate may be far from a sure thing. So, my guess is going to surprise everyone: Trump will resign and have Pence pardon him, just like Nixon did. It is similar to defaulting on a loan.
5
A critical factor is whether there is a John Dean in the wings, someone with character and guts to tell the true inside story. Or perhaps just someone desperate to save their own skin as the documents illustrate the rampant scheming and corruption.
At some point, the indefensible may become indefensible, even for Republicans.
2
It’s been often said that the Democrats had no choice because to the whistleblower blower report and what has since followed.
Perhaps the Republicans will also have no choice if there’s any chance to salvage the remnants of a post Trump party.
Thus far there is no evidence to contradict the allegations of
the whistleblower regarding the telephone call and the subsequent efforts by many in the WH to cover it up.
This may be the beginning of a cascade of criminal allegations against many trump allies in government.
Other than ad homonym attacks on specific Democrats, there seems to be little for the Republicans to attack in the merits. Even Fox’s Judge Napolitano has acknowledged the serious nature of the charges. For their own selfish reasons,
the Republicans (excluding the radical group who can’t be salvaged) will abandon trump-they will not have a choice either.
2
Thank you for this basically hopeful article. I admit to very deep discouragement when I hear Republicans transparently argue that black is white in the very face of a situation that represents such a grave threat to democracy. But what would you expect from folks whose every elected representative and senator has promised to oppose all climate change remediation? Clearly the seriousness of the issue does not inspire any departure whatsoever from perceived short term partisan interests among the GOP party elite. It surely comes down to the sense of responsibility and judgement of ordinary citizens, if they can find their way through a well financed blizzard of misinformation.
9
This is very simple.
It’s either okay to trade foreign aid for political favors or it’s not. If it’s not, then the House must impeach. Let the Senate refuse to hold a trial. Then it really will become political. And the Republicans will lose.
5
Jamelle Bouie:
What evidence do you have that Trump was “joking” about executing whistleblowers, which he calls spies. I think he would if he could.
At best, he is trying to preempt testimony in the Impeachment Investigation which is a violation of Federal Whistleblower Protection Laws.
There is no bottom to Trump’s ethical and moral corruption.
7
I think you’ve summed up in the final sentence fo the next to last paragraph...at least for anyone who is willing to admit it. Trump is unfit to be president.
And I agree, impeachment is a necessary step regardless of the Senate. Not everyone listens to Fox News, and as reported, even the fox commentators are beginning fracture. The more the word gets out about his conduct and the conduct of those around him, the less likely it will be that he prevails in 2020.
4
Have to disagree with Bouie saying: "A broad, wide-ranging investigation — a series of methodical, Watergate-style open hearings — keeps the president’s corruption and wrongdoing in view, while putting pressure on an already struggling White House."
In our new world of asymmetry, providing cameras and lights for GOP'er committee members' clown antics, Corey Lewandowski-type witnesses, all accompanied by POTUS live rage-Tweets/disinformation is archaic; the cut and dried piece of evidence which is the White House-furnished 'transcript'/reconstruction, combined with the whistle-blower's report confirmed by White House witnesses, is enough to call the vote.
A minimum of show-time for Celebrity Apprentice: White House Antics should be provided, to get the job done quickly.
2
The core message, Trump can't take a punch...exactly correct. Kristin Gilibrand said: "Trump is a coward"...exactly correct (I like her for that). The argument that impeachment will rile up and solidify his base rests on fear that his base will get stronger. That is a cowards position. Into the breach I say!!! If we lose at least we fought...enough of this decision making based on fear. My bet is that once he sees true danger that he cannot outlie and outtwitter, he will crumble.
7
Totally agree.
2
KISS—Keep It Simple, Stupid (America). So, no; a drawn-out series of hearing marathons won’t hold America’s attention. The fact that Trump
won the presidency proves that we ain’t too sharp.
3
i like your thinking.
1
Watching a humiliated donnie is very
comforting. Push him over the edge,
Let him realize he is the most hated man
on the planet he's working destroy
5
THIS President can't take a punch.
Most bullies can't.
6
Public sentiment may come like Hemingway’s bankruptcy, “First gradually, then all at once.”
The issues are crisper this time: Trump asked the president of Ukraine to investigate his biggest rival. He did so after suspending Ukrainian military aid and in response to the Ukrainian president’s plea for help. And the record was stored on a server reserved for top secret matters, giving the appearance of coverup.
And Trump’s defenses aren’t getting traction. “No quid pro quo” doesn’t resonate when the request itself smells so bad. Nor does “no pressure,” especially with women who’ve been sexually harassed (most of us) and who thus understand the power of context. And Barr’s claim that getting dirt on a rival is “not a thing of value” doesn’t pass the straight face test.
And this one just feels different. Sure there’s shrieking from the usual suspects, but there are also lots of GOP crickets in the Senate, even public fights between the newsmen and pundits on Fox. I’m not so sanguine to think those GOP senators are quietly pondering jumping the Trump ship. But the fact that they they aren’t reflectively defending and that there are ever-so-tiny cracks in Fox’s protective wall, give me a glimmer of hope I’ve not had in the ages of this long national nightmare. If Pelosi can rein in the grandstanders and Shiff can keep the hearings as laser-focused as his questions to Mueller, maybe, just maybe the worm will turn and this cancer on the presidency will finally be exorcised.
4
Trump's actions as President should deeply trouble every decent human being on the planet. I want to see him pay the price for his endless transgressions against not just America, but all of humanity. Yet I fear that the Republican Party, which no longer has anything other than Trumpism to offer the electorate, will do everything possible to keep Trump in power.
4
The essence of the Trump-defenders reaction to the transcript of his conversation with the Ukraine president is that Trump does not expressly promise to furnish military aid following his request for a favor. Trump's defenders deny Trump could convey the quid-pro-quo, military aid in exchange for dirt on Biden, without saying those exact words. This makes me wonder: how do Trump defenders commence sexually intimacy with their spouses, or others: "How about some intercourse, honey?" "Let's do the dirty deed." Trump's defenders evidently do not believe that he can not be more subtle than a 4-year-old: "Can I have a cookie."
Perhaps the impeachment inquiry should start with Stormy Daniels: "What conversation, if any, resulted in your sexual acts with Mr. Trump?" Her answers might show that he is sometimes capable of expressing a request with subtlety.
2
Impeachment is the left undercut. The crossing right knock out punch is the 25th Amendment. You bring them both in this fight.
5
I think impeachment is long overdue. Not only will it publicize all of Trump's wrongdoing, it seems to be a better tool to get documents and testimony that had been blocked. Note how quickly the phone call readout and whistleblower complaint were released. People who only watch fox news don't necessarily know how crooked trump is.
5
Although their are risks to poking an irrational bear, the risks are worth taking.
If he doesn't pull a "wag the dog," he is likely to have more and more childish tantrums and, eventually, expose even more corrupt behavior. The man has no self-control.
He's like a big, angry toddler, who will test the limits until someone stops him. That "someone" is all of us.
3
Totally agreenwith Jamelle Bouie.
Trump's done enough to be impeached ten times over.
Unfortunately, public memory as Nixon noted, is short, but it's not dementia yet.
If we stitched all of his garbage and hung it around his and the republican's necks, it could be an effective reminder of why nobody wants four more years of this.
Be everywhere. Be relentless. Never give up.
What he's done to water, air, climate, education and the government.
A book of his lies.
A book of his lawbreaking and tax evasions.
A book of his sayings.
The Times' series on what his dad and he did is by itself a ticket up the river.
And for the coups de grace, his tax returns, I want to see those like Ness wanted Capone's bookkeeper.
Can't Soros or some other enlightened billionaire (what's his name, Steyer? from San Francisco) put up a reward for those. Twenty people must have seen them. Blow that whistle.
Whether gotten via court order or another Snowden, those tax returns must put him in a very bad light for him to so desperately resist giving them up even after saying he would make them public.
Or Putin's video collection. (Will require regime change and another movie like the Lives of Others)
May I state the obvious?
This president is public enemy number one and anything we can do to help remove him from office, by impeachment or election, is an act of patriotism.
6
"Trump Can’t Take a Punch" No, he can't, because he came to the White House singularly unprepared to do so.
He has never had to face anyone talking back to him. In business he never had to account to a board of directors, only at first to his indulgent Daddy. And he never held, or even sought, even the lowliest portion in public service.
The highest office in the land needs better credentials than just business man.
23:35 EDT, 9/27
5
Why, in all of the scandals publicized regarding Trump, is the fact of his having been a money launderer for the Russian mafia oligarchs still being ignored? That is really the greatest crime of Trump and is the real explanation behind his being led around by the nose by Putin. Among others, whowhatwhy.org published the facts on this as did former federal prosecutor Dennis Aftergut in a memorandum he co-authored and sent to House Democrat Jackie Speier on January 9, 2018. This is not some wild conspiracy theory; it's established fact, and in fact money laundering is fairly widespread throughout the real estate industry, so it shouldn't come as a complete shock to anybody.
3
If the president believes he is innocent of what’s evident within the phone transcript and the whistleblower complaint he should simply prove it. One way to undercut the “partisan” accusations would be to “go transparent “; answer the outstanding subpoenas, release tax filings, and provide all transcripts of conversations with Ukrainian, Russian, Saudi, contacts.
104
Exactly. If he’s done nothing wrong, surely the release of all materials and the testimonies of those who have been subpoenaed will prove that.
Brilliant Idea!!
I object. I don't want Dems to think of the political ramifications at all. There will be time to fight Trump politically. This is about who we are as a nation, what we believe to be acceptable. This is not all about political advantage -- or shouldn't be. Maybe that's too naive, but every Dem needs to do a gut check and think of the country first -- whatever they decide.
228
DRJ,
Politics, first, last and always is the Motto of Washington, D.C.
Going after LBJ because of the War did not end the War any sooner
and gave us Nixon.
Political Wisdom may be more important than naively seeking Justice
from politicians.
4
Republicans too. This presidency is going down in the history books, and not in a good way.
2
I would add to your observations, every Republican needs to also put aside partisanship and look at the facts and uphold the Constitution - not spin them or defend Trump or claim they have not had the time to read the complaint or watch Trump publicly admit what he did. This is about what is right and what is wrong. Bullying and coercing a foreign government into getting dirt on a political opponent while holding hostage military aid that was approved by Congress as leverage to ensure what Trump asked for is delivered is absolutely despicable. Both parties need to pull together to get to the truth and live up to their oaths of office - defend and protect the Consitution .
Trump can't take a punch? Maybe not. But he's never had to. Why? Because he always manages to find others to fight his fights for him. In business, he found Michael Cohen and other unscrupulous attorneys to threaten or cheat anyone he had business dealings with.
Trump is a genius for conscripting others to do his dirty work. His cabinet is evidence of this. And he's gotten the undying support of 40% of our citizens, who love every hateful, bigoted, and unlawful action he takes. And they will fight his fights.
As we watch this impeachment proceeding unfold in the House of Representatives, expect Trump to go back to holding his mega-rallies. He will incite his followers to violence, because those mean Dems are taking "their president" away from them. And his rabid, heavily armed base will be more than happy to comply.
Trump will not go quietly. Nor will he go without a fight. But he knows he needn't land any of the punches. He has his vicious, hateful base ready to fight on his behalf. He need only say the word, and his followers will begin brandishing their AR-15's. They have been spoiling for a "fight" like this for the past three years.
These next several months will be the most dangerous time in American history in my lifetime - and I'm in my 60's. Those of us who are against this deranged tyrant need to take extra care to ensure our own safety and the safety of our families. Trump will call out "his troops" before this is over. Bet the rent on it.
88
I’m one of those who was opposed to impeaching (I thought it would help Trump in the election) to now being in favor ... and I suspect there are a lot of people like me. As more dirt comes off, and more leave the sinking ship, I think you’re right ... Trump will get even more erratic, and we’ll see his poll numbers fall. In the end there will always be some who will support him, as there were members of the public who always thought Nixon was treated unfairly.
66
If Democrats don't put a stop to this, the world will get the message. "The Trump administration is open for business. If you need something from us, come talk to us, and bring us something we need. We need and want your help in our war on the Democrat party and you will be richly rewarded. It doesn't have to be true, it just has to sound good on TV."
And the only way to stop it is impeachment, as Bill Barr has made clear.
68
We are already past that point. The world has already gotten the message that this administration is open to any offer that enriches them. We've seen that illustrated by the NRA's visit to the Whitehouse this past week.
Yes. The President’s use of his office to solicit help from a foreign government in investigating one of his political opponents is a last straw of sorts, but it sits atop a pretty large pile of straw. Let’s have a good long look at it all, at least as thorough an examination the one we gave Hillary Clinton’s alleged misdeeds.
44
I agree that an appropriate strategy would be to take this inquiry as far as it can go. Do not narrow the process. It is not about getting him impeached when no removal is possible. Continue to amass the evidence. The American people have a right to know everything this president has done Give the Courts time to weigh in and force documents to be delivered to Congress. On MSNBC Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said that a "well plead meticulously organized case' should be prepared. This means creating a very long list of impeachable offenses (not hard to do) and culling it down to the most egregious. The American People need to be made aware of the full list.
75
At some point in our lives, each of us is asked to do what's right above what's expedient. That time has come now for House Democrats. If losing the Presidency in 2020 is the price that Democrats must pay for opening and pursuing an impeachment inquiry, then at least the sacrifice would be made in effore to preserve our foundational and Constitutional ideals, and therefore not be in vain.
149
I would like to think so, however, the gop and wh will not see it that way. Like the reality show president, it will be a clear win for them, and they will continue in illegal behavior, and it likely will be worse.
He needs to be removed for the sake of this country.
2
Agreed. And if we go down, at least we will be proud of what we strove to preserve.
@AMDG I agree. And that time has also come for House Republicans, but... oh, never mind. What was I thinking?
I reluctantly voted for Trump due to absolutely despising Hillary Clinton.
That said,her allies in the media and Congress have tried to undo the election since the morning after.
I am in my 70's,a 100% disabled war veteran and have never been in trouble with the law.
I am disappointed by the decline of this country's elected officials.
The media also.
Congress should be flushed out with a fire hose.
If they get rid of Trump,they'll get Mike Pence,who is more conservative.
I'll never vote for anyone promoting open borders,civilian disarmament,or socialism.
Jim Webb was the best candidate in the 2016 field.
Dear Joe, we will welcome you to the Democrats. Contrary to Fox coverage, most Democrats are not for, "open borders, civilian disarmament, or socialism." As a centrist Democrat, I believe in responsible immigration policy that reflects the promise of the Statue of Liberty and the security of our people. I believe in the Second Amendment, while also favoring gun registration and eliminating weapons designed for war. And I believe in policies that help people - Social Security, Unemployment insurance, and Medicare - all policies that were once called, "Socialist." I respect your service to our country. You defended our Constitution before. Please defend it now by opposing a lawless President.
86
The last thing the Democratic Party needs is a bitter Trump
Voter and another centrist....the time is NOW for REAL change in this country not more of the same corporate Democrats. Income inequality is at a record high, the environment is at the precipice of a not to be returned from cliff, and affordable healthcare must be a reality not a dream, stick w/the Republican Party, it’s a better fit.
5
Joe, you "voted for Trump due to absolutely despising Hillary Clinton."
So we know why you did not vote for Clinton, though you didn't say why you despise(d) her. But that is no longer relevant.
My question to you is, why did you vote for Trump? What did you believe about him that would qualify him to be president?
As a veteran you have served our country. Thank you. But, does it bother you that Trump dodged the draft, insulted McCain, a genuine American hero, and disparaged Gold Star parents, or that he promised Mexico would pay for his wall, but now he is taking money from improvements to military facilities housing our service men and women?
You say that you have never been in trouble with the law. Does it bother you that this president's entire adult life has been spent suing people, stiffing contractors who worked on his properties, filing for bankruptcies and now, among other transgressions, violating the Emoluments Clause of Article I of the Constitution?
Since you are commenting in the Times, it would appear you don't get all of your news and views from Fox, so please tell us if you believe what I stated in the previous two paragraphs is Democratic Party propaganda or has the resounding ring of truth - documented by many credible sources and by Trump's mouth and tweets in real time.
You state that you are 100 percent disabled. Which party do you believe has done most to help veterans? See...
https://www.stevens.edu/news/party-veterans-democrats-or-republicans
One would think that Republicans, the proponents of the originalist theory of constitutional interpretation, would support impeachment as the remedy for corrupt presidential behavior, as envisioned by Hamilton and Madison in the Federalist Papers.
2
As the author notes, no one can really know the political consequences of pursuing an impeachment inquiry. When in doubt, play it straight. The only question is whether the President’s conduct is so egregious as to render him unfit for office, and is there sufficient evidence in the public record to warrant a closer look into his conduct. The only answer has to be “yes.” Even before the Ukraine controversy there was ample basis for an impeachment inquiry. As for the argument that the Senate would never convict, we cannot know that either, because we do not know what facts an inquiry will uncover, we cannot know how the public will react, and we cannot know whether some Republicans in the Senate will find it in their interests to convict, or perhaps just find a conscience. In short, when in doubt play it straight.
4
Trump does thrive on chaos, but only if it is of his own making. Criticism or exposure is something his ego can't handle and he is not intelligent enough to deal with it maturely.
I believe that focusing an impeachment inquiry on Trump's attempt to influence the 2020 election is the only way to go. If an inquiry shows that there was a concerted effort by Trump and his enablers to get Ukraine involved even some of the most partisan Republicans will be hard pressed to deny removal from office. Trump's machinations in this regard, if shown to be in accord with the whistleblower''s account, amounted to extortion and an abuse of his power to influence a democratic election. As Joseph Maguire said, this is unprecedented. Except for, possibly, Trump's payments to his lovers, all other misdeeds, have been geared to enhance his personal wealth. Even the purpose of payments to Clifford and McDougal can be twisted to suggest Trump intended to hide his transgressions from his wife, not to influence 2016's election.
In other words, there is no interpretation if shown in the House, other than an undeniable abuse of power, that Republicans can wiggle out of in regard to Ukraine. It is only this egregious episode that has a chance of convincing any Republican with integrity that Trump must be removed from office. Just focus on this. The hosts at Fox News will continue to fight over it, giving Democrats a good deal of much needed support from the other side.
1
Re Sean Hannity - the only thing I can figure is Trump promised him his own media empire after he’s out of office and starts Trump TV.
3
Let’s all hope Dementor Donald is finally sent to Azkaban, much more of him will truly suck the soul of America dry!
4
I tend to agree with this longer protracted fact based approach. I think we should put the politics of this aside, and I’m not saying that in some fantastical naive way. I believe that if we can move past the headline catching nonsense of today’s media culture trap and get back to empirical discussions it can bring integrity back to our system. Trump supporters are a cult and 100% emotionally driven. That is an unsustainable mindset and we can’t get dragged into that anti-intellectual debate and let social media drive the narrative.
2
With clowns like Giuliani and Nunes running interference for him, Trump is in deep trouble. So is his tame attorney general, who faces not only disbarment but criminal prosecution. And so are the rest of the coconspirators including Pence, Pompeo, Mulvaney, Mnuchin and all the others who hid transcripts of Trump's telephone calls and conversations with foreign heads of state. I'll bet Trump's talks with Putin and MBS are even more incriminating than the ones with the Ukrainian president.
5
When corruption goes unchallenged the perpetrator feels emboldened and the bad acts will escalate in frequency and scope. That must end now for this corrupt president. Trump cannot be allowed to shred the law with impunity. He is a bit staggered by the speed with which all the information about Ukraine has come out resulting in Pelosi opening the impeachment inquiry, which is actually bizarre since he himself released the phone “transcript.” He was cocky enough to believe that his base and state TV channel would spin it as “no quid pro quo” which they indeed are trying to do. Yet there are enough Americans on the right who know right from wrong and understand the connection between foreign aid for Ukraine that was already approved by Congress being mysteriously frozen by our president with no explanation nor policy rationale and then Trump asking Ukraine’s President for “a favor.” Once the whistleblower came to light the money suddenly was released. No amount of spinning will clear the stink of this episode.
3
The House should take its sweet time.
Rack up all the major crimes this punk has committed while in office, add a few he pulled during the 2016 campaign. Then, come up with a strong and representative list - 10 will do nicely.
Standing up to this bully is the only way forward. As someone else said in another comment a few days ago, Fear is the other guy's problem.
Protect this country. That's our job, it's the job of Congress, it's the job of the Courts, and it's the job of the President. Two our of four ain't bad - and with if integrity still exists, it'll be three out of four, which will be just fine.
1
No Republican on the Judiciary Committee, other than Nunes, made much of an effort to rationalize the president's criminal behaviour in dealing with the Ukrainian president - this development alone ought to reassure Democrats they're on the right track. Full speed ahead!
3
So far, Americans are supporting impeachment, in growing numbers, 13% in one week. If only Democrats don't mess this up. Always a possibility.
2
Mr. Bouie is very perceptive. Like most bullies, Trump is also a coward. In addition to the threat of impeachment for Trump (and perhaps also Pence and Barr) quite a few Trump staffers apparently now face obstruction of justice charges. Quite likely, some will prefer to come clean rather than face jail should Trump lose; it's unlikely that trump has clue as to how to handle this situation, which mirrors Nixon's problems, not Clinton's. Nixon, though much more astute than Trump went off the deep end. Trump will be even more unsettled, may well try to lash out in ways that reduce his popularity further, and come quite close to self-destructing. (Of course, even if he keeps his head, he deserves to be impeached.)
One addition I feel strongly about is the utter contempt for the environment his administration has shown; this indicates egregious failure to protect the country, which I believe is a high crime in and of itself.
5
His supporters claim that this is just another example of "Trump being Trump." That is the kind of cynicism the Republican Party has been peddling for years. Same old thing with a new (orange) face.
6
Of course he can't take a punch, why? Because he's a classic bully. Bully's are rarely touch, never smart but always insecure and weighed down by an inferiority complex big enough to choke an elephant. Trump, born rich, is not a self-made man but often conveys otherwise. He and his rudderless ilk are what happens when money is in lieu of proper parenting with enough nurturing to aid in proper development but not so much to feed an ego. Whenever things don't go right for Trump, regardless of how slight and/or inconsequential, he reacts with an everything including the kitchen sink childish attack, inclusive of name calling. Hopefully this experiment with electing a person who was unfit prior to the escalator campaign entering ride has taught us all a lesson, being president of this country is not for everyone - especially those who haven't intellectually graduated middle school.
4
thank you for your clear and intelligent thoughts - clarification in this crazy time. Intellectual clarity and support.
I am giving you a big hug through space and time. You are doing god's work (and I don't even believe in god!)
3
The issue remains - can this group of Dems pull this off? Can they keep the messaging on point, and control the narratives? Especially going into a recess. That's gonna be crucial. If they are not on camera everyday, individually and in small groups, discussing their recess activities and telling the public that their constituents are demanding action - and most of them are in all but the blood red locations - then they will loose the media game.
They have to keep up a maximum media campaign in order to sway a large portion of those dopey 40-45%'ers who remain against impeachment.
This is not like a court trial, where there are exact rules and methods, specific and clearly defined evidentiary goals to be met, where most of the work is done off camera, out of the public view, so not to taint public opinion.
Dems need the public to be in the loop! They need public opinion to go their way. They need to keep on message; Trump and his Band of Merry Deplorables are corrupt! They are not making American great for anyone but big money lobbyists, themselves and a few friends! Period!
Pelosi needs to keep them on point, not just saying they will be.
They need to keep hammering that a President should NOT be directly involved in any investigation of any American citizen, without first going thru proper channels. That he would be last of the last resorts for gathering evidence, or asking for help.
There's no other reason but personal, that he would be asking this favor! None!
1
It’s telling that he’s trying to throw pence under the bus. I hope that they both end up there and they take their families down with them. Heck a guy can dream right
3
Trump thrives on chaos - his chaos. The best way to keep him off balance is creating chaos around him. His brain cannot keep up. France's Macron used managed chaos around Trump to his advantage at the G7. Trump was a gibbering mess.
I honestly don't care whether the impeachment inquiring is good politics or not. To not pursue an inquiry just shows that the Democrats are completely spineless jellyfish. You either stand up and do what's right in defending the Constitution you swore an oath to protect, or get what you deserve under an ever more erratic Trump. I want a vote in the Senate that is very public so I know who supports the Constitution and who support Party over everything else. Just make sure the inquiry is rock solid with integrity and fairness, please.
3
Agree. Nothing wrong with finding out the facts, they will speak for themselves! (and at this point, it's the House's duty to find the out), and I agree that when the facts (likely) go to the Senate, the process will show us clearly (as if we couldn't already guess) where their allegiance lies!
2
Impeachment or a loss during the 2020 election, when he leaves can he please take Guiliani with him? I think there is enough room in the moving van for both of them. I am sure Romney would be happy to latch the door of the cargo bay, And Warren can take an inventory of missing items from the Whitehouse and send the bill to the Tower,
1
The numbers you cite about those against impeachment were never exactly that. They were representing a Nancy Pelosi position: "Don't make him a victim again." But the majority of us have always known he should be impeached. Now we will do this, the Senate will be craven, and may we vote them all out come November. Then they, too, can get a $50K a month spot on a board somewhere.
Trump and his enablers in Congress and the media have managed to deflect crisis after crisis, to his benefit. Now, with a Democratic impeachment inquiry that has quickly gained traction, Trump's ability to control the narrative (key to earlier crises like Mueller and Stormy Daniels) is less forceful. The move to act quickly is a smart one--it keeps Trump on the defensive, flailing and angry. I am less convinced than Mr. Bouie of the public's capacity to be moved by factual disclosures of wrongdoing; but this still-unfolding episode has thus far revealed a president and party unable to contain the damage it has wreaked. Much will depend on the extent to which continuing investigations reveal malfeasance so compelling that McConnell and the GOP can no longer ignore or minimize the lawlessness.
2
There is a moral imperative to go forward with this impeachment, political upside or not.
4
Sometimes when I'm watching a ballgame, I wonder about some of the strategy. Then I think about the coaches and how much time they've invested in the game, their players, etc. They pick up on things that a casual fan does not. I think that's applicable in this case with Nancy Pelosi. She's been in this business a long time. Obviously a LOT to dig into, but early indications suggest she favors a surgical approach as opposed to a Ken Starr fishing expedition.
4
The first signs of entry into the end of a civilization often appear in the shallowing of language. Words and expressions lose their deeper meaning. Words determine how we perceive what we perceive. Our use of words shapes our beliefs. There is a danger here. If we believe that an untruth as expressed in words is a truth, for us it will become a truth.
There is no integrity within the information at hand. With this comes an inability to think critically. Critical thinking, so necessary for human progress begins to die and shows few signs of revival. Truth is no longer truth. Honesty is no longer honesty. Beauty is no longer beauty. Absolute Good is no longer absolute good.
We see indications of this in the American dialogue today. Listen to the political rhetoric. Listen to the Right Wing media; a sophistic artifact of what they could be America. It would seem we are about to repeat the Greek downward spiral.
www.InquiryAbraham.com
2
Nothing hurt Nixon more than the slow, methodical unfolding of Watergate before a huge television audience, both during the Ervin Committee hearings and the impeachment sessions. It proved devastating as Republican lawmakers, singly or in small groups, turned against their President. I believe the Republican leadership is waiting for an opportunity to dump Trump...
6
The Democratic leaders in the House will set the stage and direct the action. They will carefully investigate and reveal the facts. The presidential candidates will take their cues from what, by whom, and when the facts are revealed. The story of corruption and abuse of power will captivate the American people and distaste for Trump will grow.
Just kidding.
House Democrats are going to scramble for the microphones and jump in front of every camera to grandstand. They will waste irreplaceable time for asking questions by making speeches that at best will get one soundbite aired out of 20. They will lose the opportunity to reveal a coherent story of abuse of power in the bedlam of House politics. Democratic voters will be deflated, again. Republican voters will be energized. Independents will tune out because they have seen this show before.
Impeachment dysfunction feeds the general, and justifiable, belief that Washington does not work. The GOP will win again because their real aim is to hobble government and enhance the power of the rich and the self-righteous.
Please prove this wrong. Please.
Those who support the impeachment inquiry now are American patriots. Those who continue to support Trump now are betraying America
4
I agree that "Trump can't take a punch". But Trump thinks he can, and that's going to lead us into dangerous territory. Trump calls himself a "counter puncher". He says that means, if you hit Trump, he will hit you back twice as hard. So, what will "hitting back twice as hard" after impeachment mean? Nothing good for the nation, I think.
Under imminent threat of impeachment Nixon folded and went back to private life. The nation was better off, and Nixon was better off. Win win. Trump is more of a lose, lose kind of guy.
2
We will all live through administrations helmed by leaders we admire and others we don’t. As Obama, put it, sometimes our team wins and sometimes it loses, but the sun comes up the next day.
The exception to this has been Donald Trump. Long time observers knew exactly what he was: a deeply corrupt, incompetent, malevolent human being who served only his own interests and whims. The Trump Organization was his little fourth rate fiefdom and he ran it like a mobster. The old man got what he ordered. Omertà was enforced.
Donald is a danger to this nation. His intent was always clear. He signaled it the day after his inauguration as he stood in front of the wall of stars at CIA HQ, with Pompeo adoringly looking on, giving that bizarre speech about himself and cajoling the workforce with his usual nonsense of no one will be better for you than I will. His intention was to co-opt the intelligence community.
He desecrated a sacred space and vastly underestimated the patriotism of Americans who feel compelled to protect our nation, to uphold our laws, to represent the US ably, to keep our secrets, to ensure our safety. Donald cares about none of these. But the IC took his measure that day. Career IC people serve multiple presidents and that is part of the job.
It is fitting that a member of the IC stepped forward. I never doubted that should the facts warrant it, we’d hear from them, somehow, some way.
3
The ex-Ukraine prosecutor was on TV this morning and said that Hunter Biden did not violate anything. Wouldn't he be the one to know. Trump is still going to proceed with his lies and whitewashing his own crimes. We have sunk so low.
5
What outstanding writing from Mr. Bouie! The second to last paragraph should be repeated continuously until every American has perceived its crystalline clarity:
"We know Trump solicited the head of a foreign government to meddle in the presidential race. We know he tried to cover it up. We know that throughout his term he has used his office to enrich himself and his family with no regard for the public good. We know he abused the power of his office to protect himself from investigation. We know he has used his influence to incite racial and religious hatred against his fellow Americans. We know, in other words, that Trump is not fit to be president."
10
As the piece points out, public opinion barely budged during months of the Russia investigation and reporting on corruption of the administration. Now finally something has moved the needle. Nancy Pelosi’s approach has yielded a positive result. And Jamelle Bouie’s conclusion is that... the Democrats should switch to the approach he’s favored all along?
A classic instance of the pundit fallacy: the belief that what the writer favors personally is good politics.
Mr.Bouie you have encapsulated my views exactly. This President is an example of all the worst qualities of humankind. The Republicans might as well be called the “Greed “ party for their subservience to the worst of the oligarchy. Resistance is our only option. This is our country also. We cannot let this pass. History must record that we tried to save what could be saved of the ideals of the founders.
3
No, Mr. Bouie; the president "can't take a punch." He can't get up off the deck. "Moscow Mitch" McConnell is his main second in his corner and other Republicans are there, eager to towel off the sweating president-as-boxer, wobbly on his stool, unseeing in the staring lights, frightened as the roaring crowd abuses him.
He has been floored by his own hand. His foolish decision to publish a "perfect, beautiful" transcript did nothing to amplify what the building chorus was calling for: proof of his corruption and his supreme unfitness for office. The Republicans helped him off the floor but he doesn't know quite where he is. McConnell might be waiting for a standing eight count, a respite, hoping that public opinion, not yet overwhelmingly in favor of impeachment, might stay the hammering in both the boxer's head and heart. He has to know, somewhere in his innards, that it was he, himself, that loosed the thunderbolt that has sent him crashing to the canvas, much harder and with more devastating impact than has ever happened to him.
He needs more than smelling salts and squirts of water into his dry mouth. He's turning his head, stunned, almost unaware of his surroundings. He can't fight back because he has no will. The jabs and uppercuts are now promising to rain down upon him relentlessly. He seems to understand that the crowd wants blood; wants him to lose; to be humiliated. They want blood.
McConnell, fearing a Senate trial, throws in the towel.
It's a knockout.
4
Yanks 27 - 9 Red Sox. Enjoy the hearings. Red Sox fans will have no distractions. Yanks fans will make use of the DVR after we return from playoff games. Yes, this is on point—-life goes on.
Just like rats living in the underground sewers, the whole life of Trump, whether in business or in politics, is fraught with intransparency and avoidance, away from sunlight and people's scrutiny. He has failed to publicly show his tax returns, financial records, and well, his college transcripts. When sitting in WH, he concedes his communication with foreign leaders to somewhere people cannot examine.
Now, his lack of transparency has severely damaged our democracy, the reputation of our country, the constitution, and our relationship with allies. Trump and his cabal must be removed out of Washington.
Let's go impeachment and lock them up!
5
Trump thrives on chaos.
The best evidence is the last three years, which is an updated definition of chaos taken to the next level. A racist remark, vindictiveness turned vicious,, a thunderclap screed on the enemy of the people, divulging intel to the Russians, hailing white supremacy, cronyism, brazen graft, lies upon lies on top of lies -- random firecrackers that trigger our fight or flight instinct with rapid adrenaline shocks until it's all an exhausting blur and we can't care anymore.
Of course he prefers to cause chaos than be its victim but chaos precludes control once Pandora's box is opened. Thus Trump's present crisis. It's signed, sealed and delivered by Trump to Trump.
Much has been noted about the superb cogency of the whistle-blower's complaint. It's the opposite of chaos: an op-ed column celebrates it as a paragon of good writing that tells you what road you're on, where it leads and how to get there. It's a monument to literacy juxtaposed with an inchoate Trump Tower sputtering covfefe.
You're right about Trump being unable to take a punch. Everything points to Trump as the cowardly lion, not the Wizard of Oz. He no doubt is without heart and while not physically small he is in every other way tiny going on minuscule. If he is as claimed a stable genius, he's a nano-size one.
Trump's illusion -- which has blown up in his face -- is chaos can be managed and moderated. It can't.
To paraphrase the Bible, win by chaos, lose by chaos.
7
At the very least, an impeachment proceeding will force each Republican senator to stand for or against this illegitimate presidency in the harsh light of history and their own dubious legacies.
6
Trump may not be able to take a punch, but the only punch that can take Trump out is the American people. If Mitch can vote to turn over the whistleblower complaint, he can be persuaded to impeach if the polls tell him it is suicide otherwise. If enough rats leave the sinking ship (i.e. polls dip below 30) impossible things start to become possible.
5
You know Jamele, you have got the right stuff on this, I do believe. Cogent and well put, you are on top of your game for us "we the people".
Thank you for a job well done.
5
A lot of people are debating whether the impeachment inquiry should focus narrowly or be broad. My opinion is that it should be both. The main theme should be very narrow and simple: the president behaves like a mobster. The evidence to support that claim should be as expansive as possible, but it must be rigorously tied to the main theme. This is a president who, like a mobster, acts solely in his own base self-interest and is willing to use the powers of the government and the taxpayers' money illegitimately to extort financial and political favours from others and to benefit himself at the expense of the nation's and the people's interest and security.
6
"As soon as it was clear that the House would go after Trump for his actions regarding Ukraine, he panicked — even trying to implicate his vice president in the scandal."
This is a good lesson for Pence and everyone else who stands with Trump; he will turn on them in a second. Trump will never reciprocate their loyalty. So beware. But, if a Senate trial looms, be sure Trump will bribe, intimidate, and blackmail every Senator he needs to win. There is nothing more dangerous than an animal when it's cornered. Or a Trump when it's trapped.
6
Jamelle, I hope you’re right.
But Trump has shown he can be the master of obstruction. He will not allow people with damaging information to answer subpoenas citing “ privilege or national security “. His supporters will lie. Lewandowski comes to mind. Even some moderates will refuse to answer questions...Mueller is the supreme example. The jailbirds will clam up hoping for a pardon. The Trump media Fox and Rush et al, will stir up the base further making Republicans facing re-election cower in fear. New York State who could help by revealing some the damaging information they no doubt have about crooked finances will withhold it so they can stage their own show.
Am I pessimistic? You bet.
I hope you are right.
Trump clearly use bluff a lot and deflates when he see he is going be called out and humiliated [budget show off about the wall is a good example of that]. But then he gets mad and scary.
Is Mad and Scary part of the bluff ? Or will he really do something even more damaging in response just because he can take us hostage... as long as the republican senate insure is impunity.
As you said there is no choice than to confront him in the end.
You hear some republican saying let the electoral process be the place where Trump get judge. What's the logic in that if he is allowed to cheat and make the electoral process a jock unchecked ?
“Once again, the Democrats, their media mouthpieces and a cabal...”
I would love to hear the elaboration as to what the word ‘cabal’ is actually a reference to. That would be fun. Devin Nunes would finally prove his worth.
Mr. Bouie is right about not having a choice. Either criminality is allowed to stand, and the Executive Branch becomes the seat of power for whatever American crime boss comes next, or impeachment proceedings of some kind had to commence.
I don’t want any president casually extorting allies, whether or not they’re in a region with a history of encroaching, hostile neighbors.
7
Based on what we have seen so far, the House has a moral obligation to impeach. To do nothing would be malfeasance on the part of Congress. One expects as more information is revealed, the choice of impeachment will only be further validated.
As many have noted, Trump has always been a corrupt man. That is who he is, and as President he stayed true to his nature.
This day was inevitable once he took the oath of office.
These are sad times for our nation, and regrettably things will get worse before they improve. Tragically, the Republicans are in total denial about the realities, the depth of Trumps corruption, and seem intent on backing the most corrupt President of the United States ever over the best interests of the nation.
Shameful to is the behaviour of Barr, who is clearly not acting in the interests of justice and openness. He is even more corrupt than Trump. Trump behaved as we have expected. Barr is arguably more intelligent and better educated and experience as to the operation of law. He appears to be willingly enabling this abhorrent behaviour.
5
To go on forever titillating the "low-information voter," as our cynical politicians are wont to do, will only hasten the downward spiral of our republic.
I see people forming political opinions with almost no information or facts. There is so much willful ignorance among citizens that the politicians might just as well go ahead and do the right thing. Not many will notice.
In this polarized country, we're all cynics now.
4
Many conservatives would be quick to disapprove of parents defending their children's unruly behavior in school when called to the principal's office, deflecting blame on the teacher and principal -- harassment! Likewise they would be quick to pass judgment on witnesses to crime in minority communities, clamming up to police and prosecutors and obstructing justice.
Funny how the two faces of conservatives, Trump conservatives, come out when they are faced with such delinquent, criminal behavior by their authoritarian leader. The same face that Trump displayed when confronted with Putin's meddling: "why would Russia do it?". Nothing burger. Blue state!
What a lesson to teach the children about conservatism. What a sad side of the state of America to show the world.
1
"We know Trump solicited the head of a foreign government to meddle in the presidential race. We know he tried to cover it up. We know that throughout his term he has used his office to enrich himself and his family with no regard for the public good. We know he abused the power of his office to protect himself from investigation. We know he has used his influence to incite racial and religious hatred against his fellow Americans. We know, in other words, that Trump is not fit to be president."
Dear Democrats: You don't have to go to the trouble of writing up articles of impeachment. There they are, right there, on-the-nose, and powerful, courtesy of Jamelle Bouie.
4
I don't think Nancy Pelosi had a choice not to pursue an impeachment inquiry once Trump's solicitation of dirt on Joe Biden from the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, was confirmed in the telephone summary finally provided by the White House, which corroborated the whistleblower's account of the conversation. Indeed, the White House has further corroborated the whistleblower's contention that the word for word transcript of the conversation received extraordinary super secret storage encryption for a merely congratulatory phone call, constituting, perhaps, a coverup. However, Trump has demonstrated repeatedly that he needs constant chaos so that even when there is no apparent payoff for him he will do something disruptive, for example withdrawing from NAFTA only to sign an almost identical trade agreement with another acronym, USMCA. He withdraws from the Iran Nuclear deal and increases sanctions only to expose Saudi Arabia to devastating drone attacks. Trumps needs chaos and acts impulsively. The impeachment inquiry will only feed this need and he will characterize himself as a victim of the liberal elites who distain him and his supporters, as gun-toting racists. But that was always the plan anyway.
"They have to impeach, regardless of the politics, regardless of where it leads. They have to hold Trump accountable,"
You're right Jamelle, and this is why impeachment should've been launched months ago. True, spoken public support for it wasn't in the majority, but - as this most recent overt lawlessness by Trump shows - when credible facts are introduced, many Americans will listen.
That said, most Americans are sick of the sliminess of how our government seems to work, that it works only for the 1%. That's why they fell victim to Trump's bogus promise to "Drain the swamp!". But as a lifelong denizen of the swamp, he was NEVER going to do that. But now, almost three years later, with almost daily headlines about wrongdoing by Trump and his enablers, after enduring a year and half of being held in suspense over what Mueller would find, and then having that prove nothing, many Americans are disgusted and have turned a deaf ear to anything. But sooner or later, most Americans try to do the right thing. And in their hearts, they know that continuing to allow Trump to act like a dictator, above the law, is wrong.
They must be given the full picture of a rogue President, using the office to enrich himself and his family and friends - and to repay all the quid pro quos he's given to foreign actors-so that at the very least they are confronted with the conscious choice to either support this man who is undermining our principles and nation, or to choose to do the right thing.
2
Perhaps, Trump never
Wanted the job and has found
A way out of it.
3
Anyone else notice tin-hat-trump has started snuffling again when he's bloviating like he did in the debates when he thought he was behind ? A clear telltale sign he can't hide...watch for it to escalate as he feels increasing desperate. A bully called out and taken to task is a fine thing to watch, even if long overdue. And all those who enabled, supported and benefited from his frightening thoughts, words and actions, you're next !
2
I forgot about that tell of his . . . The snuffling. You’re right.
1
The deeply partisan adversarial nature of our politics has been going on for a long time, at least since the election of President Obama when the GOP declared its total war on him and their one goal to make him a one term president. When this did not happen partisan attacks became deeper and more violent. Donald Trump was the beneficiary of this position which was based on pure hatred. Trump stepped in and became the leader of the birther movement which fed off of this hate. Trump is the outcome of GOP tactics that have sought to destroy opponents no matter the cost to our democracy. That the GOP sees no fault with Trump only shows the blindness that their hatred has created and is why Trump can do no wrong as everything wrong that Trump does is in their blinded position the correct thing to do. Our current impeachment inquiry is the product of GOP hatred and Trump is a symptom of that hate.
1
"We know Trump solicited the head of a foreign government to meddle in the presidential race."
No, Mr. Bouie, you claim that, but it is not known. Biden is nothing more than a Private Citizen who roams America talking to people about why he should be President and seek donations to his cause, but not the nominee of any party -
has received no votes.
We know he tried to cover it up. Trump did not destroy the transcript, it was placed in a different server, and why not since previous conversations had been given to the Press.
We know that throughout his term he has used his office to enrich himself and his family with no regard for the public good.
Prove this please.
We know he abused the power of his office to protect himself from investigation.
And LBJ did not, Nixon did not, Clinton did not...
We know he has used his influence to incite racial and religious hatred against his fellow Americans.
Who uses the word "Racist" the most - Liberals and Progressives and who
files lawsuits against the Constitutional Right to Religion - Liberal and Progressives.
We know, in other words, that Trump is not fit to be president.
Then vote him out of office, but do not seek to overturn an Election
because your side did not win.
The impeachment of Trump keeps Trump talking about his crimes constantly. People who tune into Fox News or AM radio are never going to change their mind on this guy. We just need the middle and I have to believe these people must have some serious Trump fatigue at this point.
I bet Trump is wishing he'd never been elected. Somebody ought to figure out a way for him to step down and save face.
1
The best way may be to have a psychiatric and medical evaluation declare him mentally incapacitated and therefore not able to distinguish right from wrong due to a neurological degenerative condition (Alzheimer's, dementia). Given his lack of inhibition and judgement and declining verbal skills that may not be far from the truth. He can then step down for health reasons and not be further prosecuted for both federal and state crimes, dividning the rest of his days between Trump Tower, Mar a Lago and cheating with golf.
1
Trump's angry and scared.
Trump fears being humiliated above all else.
This will not go well.
He'll be in worsening psychological shape as this goes on.
We can only hope the next revelations will be swift and decisive. The sooner this is over, the better for everyone.
5
Trump can't take a punch? Maybe not. But he's never had to. Why? Because he always manages to find others to fight his fights for him. In business, he found Michael Cohen and other unscrupulous attorneys to threaten or cheat anyone he had business dealings with.
Trump is a genius for conscripting others to do his dirty work. His cabinet is evidence of this. And he's gotten the undying support of 40% of our citizens, who love every hateful, bigoted, and unlawful action he takes. And they will fight his fights.
As we watch this impeachment proceeding unfold in the House of Representatives, expect Trump to go back to holding his mega-rallies. He will incite his followers to violence, because those mean Dems are taking "their president" away from them. And his rabid, heavily armed base will be more than happy to comply.
Trump will not go quietly. Nor will he go without a fight. But he knows he needn't land any of the punches. He has his vicious, hateful base ready to fight on his behalf. He need only say the word, and his followers will begin brandishing their AR-15's. They have been spoiling for a "fight" like this for the past three years.
These next several months will be the most dangerous time in American history in my lifetime - and I'm in my 60's. Those of us who are against this deranged tyrant need to take extra care to ensure our own safety and the safety of our families. Trump will call out "his troops" before this is over. Bet the rent on it.
Why David Brooks' piece earlier today was wrong, on morality, on ethics, on politics, and, finally, on facts. Thanks for providing evidence of the latter two.
2
On some level, one has to include or reference the Mueller information in an impeachment because it is the same pattern of behavior: Meet with former USSR country to get dirt, hide the dirt-gathering behind fig leaf for when the secret meeting is exposed, and simultaneously claim on TV that it is ok to get such dirt anyway. Add to the tolerance for this scheme by categorically ignoring the fact that it is unambiguously illegal and by claiming that Democrats are doing whatever you are accused of.
It is hard to tell if he knows he cannot win without breaking the law or simply thinks laws are for suckers, but Mueller's report was seen as a green light and not a yellow one.
Thoughtful article, Mr. Bouie. You start with claiming that the Bully in the pulpit cannot take a punch, and this is demonstrably accurate, both in general for bullies and for this particular one. Moving to other metaphors, for the Democrats, it's in for a penny, in for a pound. If you're going to impeach, throw the kitchen sink at him. Just make sure that every article of impeachment is thoroughly documented. The pressure this will put on Moscow Mitch is immense. It's possible to blow away one or two articles of impeachment, but a highly documented tsunami of articles is more difficult; as we have seen, get the documentation up front (which is what makes Ukraine different from Mueller, who chose not to do so), and public opinion is affected, and if public opinion is affected, then the GOP senators are between a rock and a hard place. And it couldn't happen to a more appropriate bunch of folks.
2
I don't think the release of these documents supporting the claims of the whistleblower was strategic, unless you call waving a white flag a strategy.
I sense Team Trump is at the end of its rope and not willing to hang with this insane clown for eternity. They have begun cooperating because their attorneys see no other way out of this nightmare for them. Look at that DNI if you can without saying, "There goes a man who once had a decent reputation."
They can no longer refuse to cooperate without being held partly culpable for the President's treasonous behavior. This is the end, my friends. Everyone's making exit plans except those without any options.
2
Polling shows opinion has swung in less than a week. President almost apoplectic (Rudy's been that for the past month). Sudden resignations of members of the Administration. New revelations of a cover up... and a cover up of the cover up. Fox news commentators in open civil war. House Committee in sober, deliberate, statesmanlike progress towards subpoenas of State Dept. officials. Why so swift? Why so methodical, and rational, and sensible, with even a few Republicans gravely intimating that there are some things that are credibly disturbing. Why? Because it is the power of truth. From the fable of George Washington and his cherry tree, to what all of our mothers tried to teach us -- tell the truth. You can't get caught when you tell the truth because there's nothing to catch you on. And when the world seems nuts, and we can't understand what's going on, and then the truth appears and the fog begins to lift...you know it. That's what's happened. All we need now is more truth.
5
He can't take a punch? How about a nonstop battering? A ceaseless assault? Those things he does pretty well at but a simple punch is too much? You can believe that if you want. But to try to sell it here is really a stretch. Know this comment never sees the light of day but SOMEONE will see it.
Yes. There has been much talk about how impeachment will fire up Trump's base, etc., as if they were the only people who matter.
Well, I'm a liberal, and this impeachment inquiry's got me fired up.
5
It is interesting to compare Mr. Bouie's opinion piece with Christopher Buskirk's piece in this same series by NYT. Buskirk calls impeachment an "act of desperation" by the Democrats, trying, as so many conservatives are, to dissuade the Democrats from moving forward. I look at it as the moral responsibility of the House of Representatives to try to remove an incompetent, immoral person from the presidency of the USA. We don't know how this will all turn out but if the House did not pursue impeachment and Mafia Don was elected again, they would have been derelict in their duty as representatives of America's citizens and of the oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
4
Why David Brooks' column earlier today was wrong on all counts: on morality, on political calculus, on rhetoric. Thanks for the clear argument that includes facts.
3
Manafort and Cohen are already sitting prison for their efforts to “protect” Trump. At some point, Trump’s GOP enablers are going to figure out that crime doesn’t pay.
1
I also agree with everything you wrote. I was one of those against impeachment, despite Trump's outrageous illegal and immoral actions, because I thought it would do more harm than good, especially since it is unlikely the Senate would impeach. However, unlike David Brooks' comments in his recent op-ed, I think Americans now have no other choice. Enough is enough. We have to send a message to the administration, and to the world, that our citizens cannot abide such lawlessness in our leadership. At this point, whether or not Trump is actually impeached is a moot point. He has to be forced to face accountability for his illegal decisions, and the American people need to see fhis.
2
Mr. Buskirk's analysis sounds extraordinarily defensive. It sounds so... Trump-ish. There's a misplaced arrogance and confidence that exudes Trump.
Yup, the inquiry will get messy. Maybe even for the Bidens. The Bidens' behavior was legal, if a bit unseemly. What are legal and right are not always mutually inclusive. But the Bidens are not the focus of the impeachment inquiry. They don't hold office, Donald J Trump does and I'm focusing on his actions because he is the President.
I'm sorry Mr. Buskirk is incapable of seeing what any ethically aware person sees in Mr. Trump's actions - not necessarily his reprehensible personal behavior (like making fun of handicapped folks), but using the Office of the President for his personal gain at the expense of Americans and America.
If Congress does not act at this juncture, then we have officially entered banana republic stage, and Democrats have become a legion of jellyfish. Bring a thorough and fair inquiry with lost of facts and act according to the evidence, not the Party affiliation.
It was only a couple of decades ago where at various points, Jeffrey Sessions, Lindsey Graham, and Mitch McConnell gave impassioned speeches on why Bill Clinton should be impeached. Well "the Squad" listened to those words, agrees with those words, and merely want the same standard applied to Mr. Trump. I do, too. Why don't you Mr. Buskirk?
3
Mr. Bouie, what you write here is so encouraging. I’m feeling much more cheerful after having read it. Thank you!
1
Yes, President Trump can’t “take a punch.” If you’re President of the U.S. and someone “punches” you, usually the wisest thing to do is to “take the punch” by not hitting back verbally and not taking other feel-good actions that in the long term are self-destructive. Great advice, except Trump simply can't do this. It goes beyond being wise—he just can’t. As I believe his own daughter Ivanka observed, “When someone hits him, he hits back.”
He always must “hit back” to avenge any perceived shaming. And he “hits” in the only way he can, by issuing streams of semi-coherent tweets or subjecting whatever live audience he encounters to his tirades.
So he will increase his verbal bombshells. The most pathetic example for now was his hour-long tirade for the U.N. Staff. Think about how weird that one was—the audience members were mostly career State Department diplomats, and it was only somewhat accidental that the text even got out.
This is hardly the behavior of a mentally healthy person, and we can expect that the pressure he is under will cause a further decline in his mental health, as it did for President Nixon. The biggest danger is that this crisis will push him further downhill to where verbal and twittered hits will no longer be enough, and he will take actions that will be destructive both for him and for our country. We can only pray that our other leaders and our system can rein him in and prevent him for doing more damage to our nation than he already has.
2
The first key evidence needed is the actual verbatim transcript of the call between Trump and the Ukraine president. The next items are the other hidden transcripts of calls from Trump to Putin and other dictators. Dems should focus on those betrayals of the public trust and get impeachment articles over to the Senate before the end of 2019. Let the Senate stew over it for the Xmas holidays.
Trump is also guilty of tax fraud over the payoffs to Stormy and Karen for deducting the cost as legal fees. Let the NY DA pursue that angle.
4
History does not repeat exactly, but it cycles in repetitive patterns. The generation that won World War II was called THE GREATEST GENERATION. In a way that was true; in a way it was hyperbole. We don't like to realize that we were not as "pure as driven snow,"; though as an descendant of Eastern European Jews (born in USA) it was a war as much as anything we had to win.
America has its own shames and hypocrisies, including slaughter and ethnic clearing of indigenous peoples, slavery of black skinned people from Africa, sexism that made woman second class citizens (akin to property) and so on.
The task of making ourselves a better nation is a never ending one. In fact we have to think of ourselves as a species (not a race alone), we have to promote diversity and tolerance while standing up for what is right as best as we can discern it "as through a glass darkly."
We have to think globally and act locally; strive to be better than the ones who came before us. Not just our nation is at stake. More than ever before in the history of our species we have the ability to commit suicide as a species.
If Homo sapiens sapiens leaves who will dance on our bones? Rats, starlings and coyotes? Thank you.
2
100% correct. The thinking that goes = Trump has committed impeachable offenses but should not be impeached, makes me angry. If he’s not impeached what’s to stop him from stealing the next election just like he did the last one? Those who oppose impeachment never answer that question.
I have to take exception with those who think Trump will come out ahead on this impeachment. His whole persona is invincibility or, at least the appearance of such. That's why he holds his press conferences with the helicopter running for a quick escape. His most recent, indoor, press conference showed a beaten man who, without the noisy background, seemed low energy, humbled, quite and scared. Don't get me wrong he still lied through his teeth and couldn't keep the crazy at bay but there was no getting around it, President Donald Shrunk.
4
I identify foremost as a Christian. As such, I am ashamed that many others of my faith have chosen to stand behind President Trump and the GOP! Enough already. It is way past time to call out the immorality of this President and the party which backs him!! Talk about abusing the power of the office of the Presidency, if rulers are given their positions by the grace of God then abusing the powers of those offices is an affront to the will of God! Rulers have been given great responsibility to act according to God’s will. It is time for Christians to emphatically state that our President is not doing so. I cannot stand to see my faith associated with this President or his party any longer.
8
The House had no choice. Pelosi had no choice. It is their Constitutional responsibility to begin an impeachment investigation. How would the Congress not doing what's required of them be okay with their constituents back home? Republicans should have reined Trump in - they should have done something to curb this lunacy. Every day it becomes crazier and crazier - buying Greenland? Deporting children with rare diseases whom we invited to this country to study? The rhino trophy? Pence and the Air Force staying in his hotels? Executing whistle blowers? The Ukraine? The cover-up? The Democrats have no choice. Bottom line - if the President isn't going to honor our Constitution, then Congress will need to do it. If a drunk driver runs over a kid and the police take his car keys is the policeman to blame for stopping any further carnage??
5
It's in the Republican party's best interest to get rid of Trump sooner than later. They know exactly who he is and need to have all of this come out in the open for everyone to see and clean the slate. A new presidential candidate needs to be prepped for the election season since the longer this drags out, the more impossible it will be to keep the White House. If this drags out into next summer with more dirt coming out, the entire party is officially toast for years to come.
5
Isn't it better, to put country over Party, values over compromise, principles over politics? Americans will respect those who take a stand and defend it with truth and evidence. The majority of Americans don't buy the snake oil from the charlatan at the carnival.
1
True to the mob analogy, the Republicans who have been cowed ever since Trump's election, afraid of getting whacked themselves by not falling in line, see an opening to take a hit out on their boss. There is even plausible deniability. Trump may have gone just a little too far for them and it's bringing the heat on a little too much. People may start actually focusing on their "business" dealings. That's when the contract is put out and Pelosi and her own corrupt gang take the hit contract. Then the two families, Republicans and Democrats, will sit back down, reach across the aisle and work in a bipartisan way as they like to put it, wink, wink, and divi up their turf to keep the money rolling in.
I completely agree with these sentiments and am comforted to see this new polling data. It is heartening to know that not all citizens are entrenched in partisanship and will put country over party when truly heinous acts present themselves. Those who do not will only look foolish as time goes by — Giuliani, Barr and McConnell will all suffer a comeuppance for their varied roles of conspiring, enabling and protecting. The future will not be kind to those who bury their heads in the sand or vote to protect Trump as more and more crimes come to surface. Besides, even if McConnell refuses to vote on impeachment, his stonewalling will anger so many Americans that his chances of keeping the Senate will completely erode. He will lose either way. The Democrats need to fight for this. Impeachment hearings need to be unrelenting in their audit and simply barrel through the obvious foot dragging, filibustering and fallacious arguments we will see from the right.
2
Everyone knows Trump’s exceedingly weird theory that everyone is born with a finite amount of energy and thus “exercising” is a bad idea because you will only deplete your store.
Well, I don’t subscribe to that theory, but I have another one. Everyone is born with a finite amount of “Teflon” to deflect their misdeeds and with that “perfect” phone call to Ukraine, Trump has finally used up any of his remaining Teflon whether his impeachment succeeds or not.
Excellent piece especially the last 2 paragraphs. Trump has exactly committed Nixon’s crime except Nixon did his nationally and Trump did his internationally.
As more crimes are exposed (and there will be more, we know that; and they will be revealed, at every bar and in every parking garage inside DC as frightened stupefied staffers look for anyone who’ll listen), Trump will crack and we will get, on camera, the definitive Captain Queeg breakdown. The ‘execute spies’ statement was a step in that direction. I pray that there is some inner circle sanity, or some deep state apparatus, that has already neutralized this dangerous damaged clown. Otherwise, he’s likely to explore “top-of-the-world-Ma” options, and those could include (as Chris Hayes reminded us last night) end-of-the-world scenarios.
1
Nota bene:My comment was a reply to Chris RASMUSSEN, just to put it in context.
Jamelle -- very astute observations!
Indeed, if America was ever a true democracy and is one now, a majority of the the people must be moved to finally understand the gravity of the offenses committed by this president, and to support the inquiry and possible impeachment. If not, we are a 3rd world banana republic, and may as well close shop. Democrats must not fear to do the right thing, definitely not now, and the public -- if properly informed -- will support them.
5
I applaud Jamelle Bouie for standing up for what is right, unlike David Brooks, whose most recent column urged Democrats not to impeach President Trump because doing so is politically inexpedient. I believe that events over the next year will reveal that Bouie is correct: impeaching the president is not only the right thing to do, but will also prove advantageous politically.
6
"Democrats don’t actually have a choice. They have to impeach..."
Absolutely true. To do nothing is to be complicite in the most criminal presidential behavior in our history. There must be a public, official move; a force, resisting the overt abandonment of any ethical, moral, social standard by the Trump Administration.
Whether the move to impeach is successful, by itself, in removing Trump from office is irrelevant. History must record that there were many who said, "No! This is not acceptable. This is not what this country is."
I also think Mr. Bouie is correct. Trump does not do well under any kind of pressure; so keep the pressure on.
Historical note;
The odds of a rag-tag army of amateur soldiers defeating the most powerful military in the world were pretty dismal back in 1776, yet they fought.
5
I think the rapid shift in the polls reflects that many people who disliked Trump were opposed to formal impeachment because they thought it would be politically damaging to Democrats.
Until now. I still cannot fathom why Trump released that call transcript, or why he thinks it absolves him. It is literally a smoking gun.
With obvious evidence to prove an easily-understood crime (the old-fashioned mobster shakedown), the political risk/benefit of impeachment changes. I think it becomes much harder to defend Trump, and voting on articles of impeachment - not to mention a Senate trial - will put Republicans, not Democrats, in a politically challenging situation.
I'm not sure support will ever rise much above 50-60% - just like his approval never moves far from 35-40% - but I certainly think a majority will support Democrats' attempt to stop obvious corruption/criminality.
4
I agree with everything you write. I agree with Michelle Goldberg and Charlie Blow. Donald Trump has to be impeached because his behavior is so far above the threshold of what the framers set for removing a president from office. If one were teaching a class on corrupting the American Presidency and impeachable offenses, and presented a hypothetical future president doing one half of what Trump has actually done, everyone regardless of party or ideology would agree that this absurd caricature of a bad president would have to be impeached.
Yet, here Trump stands with a close to 90% approval rating among Republicans, enthusiastically supported by virtually all Republicans in Congress, and with a national polling support close or equal to most former presidents at this point in their first term.
So yes I guess we can’t just wait to vote him out. The gamble must be taken because his outrages cannot go unchallenged. But let’s then also ask the obvious question. What happens in November 2020, if—as is entirely possible—he gets re-elected? What is the next move?
4
There is an unorganized depression forming in the Chesapeake Bay. It is predicted to gather energy from the hot air in the area. All land creatures, including Alabama, should take cover should Hurricane Don become the major category six apocalypse expected to develop. God help us all.
10
The analysis of Trump's reaction to a punch is spot-on. I don't agree that the Democrats should broaden the impeachment inquiry to include other unrelated issues (like violation of the emoluments clause or obstruction of the Russia investigation).
Pelosi is correct that the impeachment inquiry needs to be tightly focused and move as quickly as possible. The public is much more likely to tune-out (or tune-in to Republican disinformation) if the investigation bogs down in procedural issues and fact patterns involving a cast worthy of Tolstoy.
1
I believe the impeachment path we are on is a necessary anodyne to this fetid administration. I am also grateful it proceeds without delay because our president, like a wounded animal, is increasingly dangerous.
I fear his need for control and his penchant for distraction will encourage him to waste the blood and treasure of the country in a conflict if not a war of choice in any one of the several hotspots of the world. Even if it would not be leadership, his base would revel in it and it would certainly be a distraction.
Put a stake through his heart, Speaker Pelosi, and do it quickly for all our sakes.
Well written well written and argued piece, thank you.
My only add is that what impeachment investigation will do is to show how on the one hand Trump’s corruption is systemic and he had multiple enablers in his treachery; and how on the other hand, there were those, including the whistleblower, who were doing their best to protect the nation from such systemic treachery. It is this story which needs to be told. And Trump should not be the solitary casualty for such systemic abuse of power and public trust.
2
Last weekend, when the early portions of all of this were just arising, I emailed my congressman. I argued strongly for impeachment and said something to the effect of "Democrats have been brain dead since Ronald Reagan." They don't stand up for anything, and if this continued the pattern I don't know what I would have done.
But there is a point of wonder: Is there any real question about why the blue collar Trump supporters have become so disafected with the Democratic party? Maybe this can change all of that.
And by the way, I am not a twenty-something. I am 70 years old.
1
We lost many "blue collar" voters during Vietnam. And they never came back and probably won't ever come back. It's still part of the "culture wars".
I strongly agree that Congress needs to be held accountable for the continuing demise of American values and standards of conduct and this is facilitated by an impeachment process. We can’t allow Congress to continue to kick the can down the road and wait for an election. Waiting for an election simply absolves Congress of their role and responsibility in getting us into this ever deeper hole. We need to see names attached to votes for impeachment so every citizen can evaluate clearly how closely their elected representatives views align with their own and with the rule of law.
The single biggest problem of failing countries around the world is poor governance and I never thought I would see the USA evolve to this situation!
2
This is looking worse by the day.
How desperate must they be, after the Russian meddling, trolling and hacking, to solicit more election tampering without thinking about it's scandalous, corrupt implications today, should the truth come out?
How many public officials in New York, New Jersey, Florida- inspectors, development lawyers, city planning authorities, suppliers, investors- have had Trump grab their lapel and say,
"do us a little favor."
And we should not forget about all those competitors in those beauty contests where our President would just walk into the dressing room, eye the merchandise, and later on again, "do us a little favor."
With Trump it is really a simple question of class.
Real class is not confined to wealth alone.
It is characterized by elegance, quality and integrity, regardless of the size of your pay check.
Trump bay be a billionaire but he has none.
And now, by association, neither do we.
1
Sadly, much of the American public spends its waking hours in an information and discernment hibernation. What we read in the Times, view on CSPAN, NPR, and vetted journalism, is not what most Americans follow. Nor do most Americans reflect upon the "news" they do receive.
For that reason the education of the public on what impeachment is, why it is necessary at this time, why it should matter to all Americans, is a daunting process. Democrats must not just proceed carefully with an impeachment inquiry, they must give careful consideration to educating the public to what they are doing and why. The lessons must be clear and digestible in concise bites. The lessons must include repetitive emphasis on important points. And most important, the lessons need to focus public attention on the purpose of impeaching Donald Trump: Justice. In America, no man is above the law, for if laws do not apply to a president then we live in a monarchy and our generation shows contempt for the American Revolution and our Founding Fathers.
And as to the Senate Republicans standing by Donald Trump, rather than lament their lack of patriotism, welcome their disdain for justice because they are "tying the party to a lawless president might be the boost" Democrats need to take the Senate in 2020.
4
One of the more hopeful articles I've read recently was a report that Fox News are considering what a post trump world will look like. All that needs to happen is for Fox to report concisely and accurately what is happening and why, and trump's house of cards could collapse. It is time that Fox started taking their news reporting activities seriously and clearly delineate news from the opinion givers such as Hannity.
1
Hi Jamelle, Thank you for yet another column filled with astute observations and thoughtful commentary. Trump's misdeeds are in the public square for all to see. The impeachment inquiry will likely uncover and amplify more of them. What is unknown is the size, in aggregate, of the political tribes that will vote for him. We don't know if Trump's moral decrepitude represents American values or if Trump2020 is an anomaly.
1
Sometimes it takes something really bad to appreciate the good that we often take for granted. Perhaps the Trump presidency will serve as the negative example from which future generations and our country as a whole will benefit.
I agree with Mr. Bouie. Trump is compelled by his nature to strut and bluster. And by strut and bluster I mean make every problem situation much worse. He has to make it clear how much he resents his actions being called into question and challenged when he (not so secretly) believes he should be allowed to execute Americans.
I'm from NYC so I've had a lot of exposure to the man's behavior pre-presidency. Nevertheless, to my last day, I will marvel that ANYONE thought he would, or could, be even a marginally capable POTUS.
1
Congress has no choice but to move forward with impeachment. The responsibility of oversight demands it. Now that it is underway, it should all be on TV for all to see.
On the side of political calculation, I agree that Trump is all bluster and chaos derails him - brings out his true self. Thus the proceeding around impeachment should be transparent and not limited to a predetermination to focus only on the Ukraine call. While we live in a social media real time world with its bite size communication do not assume the voter cannot consume more.
Let the evidence lead where it may and as to an expansive place as it becomes. Remember that all generations living today of voting age have a steady TV diet of the many police, lawyer, courtroom, etc. TV dramas that everyone can keep up with a more complicate plot line.
We all can agree that the Ukraine call is the tip of the iceberg. And if proper methodical digging is done, even the Senate Republicans won’t be able to ignore the evidence.
Your mention of Mitt Romney hedging his bets is interesting and instructive.
Let's remember that Romney is a long time party insider, part of a political dynasty, and that the head of the Republican National Committee is his niece Ronna Romney McDaniels.
I have to wonder if there is a Republican Plan B being formulated behind the scenes. Would they really want to go down with the ship or will self-preservation kick in sooner or later?
5
The problem is the "sane Repubs" (Romney branch) now only constitute ~20 of the party if that much.
House Democrats should tell the public that they are reluctantly defending our constitutional democracy against acts that threaten it. They must confront the Republican narrative that they are simply attacking Trump for political advantage.
If we do not resist Trump's lawlessness now, our democracy will end in fact even if it stumbles on in form. After all, the old USSR was a democracy in form much like ours. And dissenters were shot.
5
Here is a clearly simple and compelling instance of an impeachable set of actions by the President. This is akin to unmistakeable probable cause at the presidential level, the investigation of which justifies breaching Executive Privilege and thereby getting past many of the obstructive roadblocks thrown up by this administration. Start by fully exploring the facts that caused the Whistle Blower to risk filing the complaint. Explicate the process of what transpired and identify those responsible. The House needs to know how the reconstructed transcript compares with the actual word-for-word call transcript (or recording), what the personal notes from those listening to the call captured, who was personally involved in the decision to "secure" the transcripts and why they took extraordinary steps to secure them. This will require a classically trained prosecutor to individually interview all those involved, under oath, under imminent threat of being held in inherent contempt of congress if they fail to comply. When that considerable task is complete, it should be clear how to proceed and when to begin a similar process to continue the work so excellently begun by Mr. Mueller. Apart from politics or near term outcomes, it is critical that the House investigation make full use of its unique constitutional right to pierce the veil of Executive Privilege so that justice may be carried out once those charged are prosecutable in a court of law.
5
Is it possible that Trump and company are leading the D’s into a trap?
Bait them with this shake down phone call only to find that the Biden’s have stepped over the line?
1
"And if I’m right, and impeachment sends Trump into new lows (he has already joked about executing spies), then Democrats might help themselves next November by taking this inquiry as far as it can go."
Jamelle Bouie, I disagree with some of your points. First off, he wasn't joking about executing spies--he has a tone when he encourages violence, even in the abstract, and he was using it then.
Yes, he will go to new lows, which many find frightening, because this erratic man incites violence the angrier he gets. He's off on a series of rallies where he probably won'tbe able to contain himself.
But as for long-drawn out impeachment inqiry, covering all the old bases as well as the new, I'd say no. The problem with Democrats in power is they get so bogged down in process. the public tunes out.
Of course it should be thorough, but also impactful. And memorable. Donald Trump has given them the gift that keeps on giving: an actual transcript, even if "abbreviated" by the administration.
Describe Trump's constitutional violations over and over in terms the public can understand. The public has to maintain interest, not lose it over process debabes.
13
On target as always, ChristineMcM! Focus will be the key. An unwieldy or esoteric process would fizzle, not just because of the national ADD affliction but because it would increasingly be attacked as 'elitist,' a damning characterization worse nowadays than 'socialist' or 'communist.'
Completely agree with this analysis. Impeachment in this regard is counterintuitive and while risky will ultimately remove this president.
1
That’s how it happened with Watergate. There was so much there, that as it unraveled more and more people began to notice, and change their minds. Nixon’s support melted away. Republicans supported him, and then, they didn’t.
39
There are Republicans who went down with the Nixonian ship. Hoping everyone will see Trump's self-evident corruption is unrealistic. The goal is to persuade enough, so that Republican Senators see a shift in their base.
9
The most convincing education for the American people regarding impeachment is not a 5-page summary written by conflicted note-takers of Trump's conversation with Ukraine's new president. It will be hearing the full, 30-minute audio recording of this one and prior discussions.
To pry them from the White House will be long and arduous. But there is another means to obtain such key evidence with all deliberate speed: surely Zelensky’s staff recorded them all.
Based on Congress’ power to fund the nation’s foreign policy to defend allies and confront adversaries, it or the House alone should pass a forceful resolution of continued support for Ukraine in its struggle against Russia, no matter how Trump may retaliate upon Ukraine’s release of the recordings.
Voters can watch and remember if Moscow Mitch and his fellow Republicans dare block it.
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Problem: Did these tapes exist in the first place? (Lordy, I hope so). After Watergate, has ANY White House dared to record any President?
Well said. Besides, There is no choice. If no action is taken in the face of obvious and recurrent criminal behavior in the White House, why continue to have a Congress. Whether it is good for Ds or Rs is beside the point. It just needs to be done. Democrats probably have more to lose by doing nothing. And I am someone who was against impeachment until this scandal.
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I have no illusions that Senate Republicans will find their conscience and vote to convict Trump, notwithstanding the statements by Romney and Sasse. In the end, they will fall in line, since if the vote fails to convict, they will be toast in Trump’s GOP. But then all those Republican Senators who voted not to convict will have to explain to their constituents why they couldn’t see what was plain to everyone who read the five-page memo summarizing the call, not to mention the slightly longer whistleblower’s report. Both are much shorter than the 448-page Mueller Report, and I would wager that the majority of Americans will have read those two documents by the time an impeachment vote is taken. We don’t need to flip 20 seats in the Senate, just 4, and polls in the most competitive races are already tight. Those Democratic candidates have to make the case that it is not just Trump and Pence on trial, but also Republican Senators who cannot see what is in plain sight.
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Trump pushes boundaries like an insecure child, precisely because he needs to know where the boundaries are. Lines should have been drawn long before this. But better late than never.
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Democrats need to show that they are responsible stewards in the one place they have control, the House of Representatives. The House has been shown a credible report from a whistle-blower with supporting confirmation supplied, surprisingly, by the President. An investigation is the only proper action under the circumstances. I understood and supported Speaker Pelosi's position on impeachment before this revelation, but this really is a bridge too far and I'm one of those people who has moved to support impeachment inquiry. Elected officials have to show that they will act on their oath of office and support the rule of law or there is no reason for any of us to support them.
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A paper smart enough to hire Jamelle Bouie is one worth subscribing to. Incisive, observant, young and progressive voices in the mainstream media are heartening -- not to mention an essential tool to extract oneself from the self-fulfilling prophecies and defeatism of the old liberal guard.
The time has come to fight and do it smartly. Mr. Bouie is correct that Trump's peaks in popularity, such as they are, have been during those rare, calm periods when he has been relatively quiet and left to eat his cheeseburgers in peace. Conversely, his lowest moments are when he's either nudged toward the abyss or impulsively strolls over to the edge on his own.
Politically, it seems entirely plausible that impeachment will aid the Democrats. HIstorical approval poll data for Trump suggest as much.
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I hope your Never-Trump conservative colleagues will read this and wake up to the strategic value of impeachment. How can David Brooks and Bret Stephens not see that there can be no free and fair election in 2020 as long as Trump thinks he can behave this way with impunity? Surely they can see the continuity between Russia 2016 and this? Trump only responds to power, and right now the House has the power to keep him on his back foot. Keep it that way.
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Thank you. David Brooks is completely off base. Not surprised. And this is not political. As an American citizen and voter, I am infuriated that this man has the audacity to think he can steal what I have held so dearly all my life, the right to choose. That's the point I think all these pundits are missing. People are outraged.
For the Democrats, the only thing worse than conducting impeachment hearings is not conducting impeachment hearings. I still think that nobody knows what the outcome of the impeachment effort will be, in terms of Trump's reelection chances. We are in unprecedented territory. And there is nothing Individual One wouldn't do. Folks do, however, increasingly want Congress to conduct the impeachment hearings, as indicated by the statistics cited here. This phone call alone and the associated whistle blower complaint indicate violations of the whistle blower law, unconstitutional actions, obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and serious conflicts of interest. The impeachment route will be difficult and risky. Often doing the right thing is just that. As for Romney, Sasse and other such sane, skeptical, thoughtful Republicans, perhaps one or two of the Democratic candidates should offer them a place in their administrations. If Lincoln did it, why can't we?
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I absolutely agree with this column. To the hypocritical evangelical Christians who continue in their unwavering support of Trump, recall the words attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John: "The truth will set you free" (John 8:32). As the impeachment process gathers steam and more revelations come forth public opinion will change dramatically--just as occurred during Watergate. It amazes me to listen to Trump's enablers like Kellyanne Conway and lackeys in congress like Lindsay Graham try to minimize, deflect, obscure, and avoid the obvious truth of Trump's violations of the public trust and his Constitutional duties. This will not stand. I disagree with those who say this process will strengthen Trump. This is the beginning of the fall (not from "grace" because none exists in this administration). I applaud Jamelle's insight in articulating the necessity of impeachment. Be confident; this is the beginning of the end for Trump.
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Mr. Buskirk: and perhaps Democrats believe that a real crime has been committed and, if one believes in the Constitution, one has to stand on morals and beliefs. It could be as simple as that, but that doesn't make your list.
I find it interesting that "what about Biden" comes up as a major part of your argument. If the president truly believed that there was an issue with VP Biden's handling of the prosecutor - a man who had had complaints dating from before Hunter Biden's employment, and from a number of sources - why not go through the State Dept? Why not start an investigation domestically instead of asking for information from a foreign government? Why include Rudy Giuliani, who isn't even a gov't employee? Why bring up points about a server that have been proven clearly nonexistent and immaterial?
What, sir, in your book has happened to "the appearance of" impropriety?
Lastly, most trials don't have a 100% guarantee of any given outcome. (Really, the number should be zero, though it's not.) Following your reasoning, no case should ever go to trial because the outcome isn't guaranteed. Is that what you're saying? And nothing should be done about indications of (potential) malfeasance because the Senate would never convict - not because of the validity of the charges, but *because it's majority Republican*?
That is a standard I don't understand, and which I don't see as consistent with democracy in the US.
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Whether or not Trump can "take a punch" is not relevant, except maybe for a strategist in the 2020 election.
What is relevant is that the Democratic leadership in the House must put together clear and compelling articles of impeachment that describe in accurate detail the harm that Trump has done and is doing to our Constitution, our environment, our national security, our infrastructure, our health system, the rule of law, the integrity of our elections, competence and honesty in the federal government, and our economy (e.g., acceleration of inequality, irrational tariffs, Immense deficits).
The articles of impeachment should even note his thousands of lies and outright fraud, his flagrant racism, his claims of absolute power, and his attacks on a free press (without which our democracy cannot function).
In other words, the focus of the articles of impeachment should not be limited to a single set of events involving one foreign nation and one candidate for president, but rather how those events are only the most recent of thousands of acts, statements, and decisions damaging our nation and the lives of the vast majority of our fellow citizens.
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And the time he fully intended to let the Egyptians imprison and likely torture a NYT journalist this year! One of our own, Ben!
For millions of voters the risk of impeachment is the risk of the replacement of Trump by Elisabeth Warren.
According to most polls that is a risk most Americans are not willing to take.
Trump's great political strength is the rise of Warren among Democratic primary voters.
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Actually, Warren beats Trump in every poll I've seen.
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A moderate Republican Governor, of some serious charm,
may step into run against Pence and win the nomination
and then out-flank the too liberal Warren.
The Democrats will have fumbled on the goal line again
and, of course, blame anyone but themselves.
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Warren is the best thing that could ever happen to this country, I’ll vote for Bernie if necessary, but he’s not my first choice. The Democrats cannot allow this felonious Grifter to remain unpunished, it’s obvious you’re a republican, stick w/them, we’re not looking for new naysayer recruits.
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Thinking back to the successful effort to drive Nixon from office, I come up with a few pointers. If I recall right, the televised hearings of the Senate Select Committee on Watergate had a powerful impact on the country at large. There, the folksiness of Senator Sam Ervin was balanced by an extremely effective Committee counsel, Samuel Dash. A single select committee allows the audience (we the people) a less scattered focus.
The Democrats have few effective questioners as compared with fine speech makers. (AOC is a notable exception in hearings, more focused there on probing questions than fine speeches.) The Republicans themselves showed the value of having a lawyer, Rachel Mitchell, ask questions for them in the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. Let the Democrats follow that example and hire an effective prosecutor for the coming hearings.
In the Senate, should it get to a trial, the House Managers should be the House's most effective prosecutors. The Managers in Bill Clinton's Senate trial were simply not up to the abilities by Clinton's attorneys, including former four-term Senator Dale Bumpers.
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The interesting thing about a Senate trial is that there is no blueprint, no agreed-upon procedure. The Constitution is deliberately (and correctly) vague about this, saying only that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will preside.
And that is a worry. Chief Justice John Roberts is a real disappointment. His Court's decisions on campaign financing and gerrymandering are direct affronts to the concept of constitutional government. With Roberts' thumb on the scales, Trump will likely be exonerated. Roberts could simply rule that the articles of impeachment brought by the House are not sufficient to proceed and adjourn the trial.
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Why not have Bill Clinton do the questioning ?
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Actually, as a former litigator, I thought Rachel Mitchell’s line of questioning was ineffective and amateurish. It also made the Republican Senators look like a bunch of cowards. Many of them are lawyers. Why did they have to contract out the work they were elected to do?
If we don't believe that the path and practice of truth, justice, and the good, is inherently and intrinsically the best route to take, there's no point to any of this.
As long as justice has been postponed, those who believe in the power of justice have been obscured. Already we are seen to be trickling out into the open, because there is a moral structure, finally, to which we can adhere, and belatedly, representatives who begin to speak for us. I believe we have far more strength and numbers than all the MAGA rallies in all time and space.
For those who want a better world, there is so much to do. This is a good and necessary start to the Herculean task of cleaning the Augean Stables.
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Eric,
Sometimes it is better to just follow the Criminal
so you can either catch him in the act or the
accumulation of evidence is overwhelming.
The greatest mistake the Democrats can make is
to rush the inquiry, which I think they have, as they
needed to have interviewed the WB and see how credible
they would be as a witness.
Trump will use every trick in the book to escape the
legal snare he may or may not be trapped in.
Make sure you have more than one snare.
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I agree that exposing the broad range of Trump’s evident corruption and self-dealing is needed between now and November 2020, but keeping the focus on what is indisputable is likely the best way to start. There’s plenty of time and, sadly, plenty of corruption to mete out as the weeks and months unfold.
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I hope you're right. And I hope that Romney and Sasse are acting out of patriotism and not pure political calculation. We shall soon see whether the patriots can win against the self-serving opportunists.
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Trump will try every trick to distract from the Democrats' inquiry, but I think Mr. Bouie is right in saying that he performs erratically under sustained pressure. Where can he hide? The enablers around him are being exposed. And his support in the Senate is not as deep and sincere as it may look now. Mitch McConnell and others are up for re-election: how popular will total fealty to Trump be? We don't know, but I like Jamelle's crystal ball. If Trump survives the trial, his base will be weaker and Democrats will be massively energized.
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Sorry, but the NYT, for all its nobility, is misleading the public.
Today, Trump asked for support in the upcoming impeachment process from the NRA, a massive, latent paramilitary organization. He also has tightened his control on the Justice Department, the courts, and the most popular media outlets.
If you are familiar with the history of Putin's Russia or the Weimar Republic, not to seem paranoid, but the main question now is how much support does Nancy Pelosi have in the various branches of the U.S. military?
Too paranoid? I'm quite sure there are many in the Trumpist segments the U.S, population and administration who snicker at a power play by a Democratic House because they feel instinctively and perhaps correctly that the violent forces within the country, including police and military and paramilitary forces are ultimately with them.
So it doesn't really matter what Congress says or does. We'll settle scores as we used to in the "old days," as Trump continually says.
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I love how the threat of fascism or a military coup is some sort of quasi-argument against US citizens seeking truth against a politician who sides with and collaborates with foreign powers over our national interests. It doesn't hold water. It is also a fallacy to assume that all government and state employees (e.g. military, police, etc) are on one side of the political divide or that only one side has the guns or capability to fight for what they believe in.
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Perhaps. But we've seen this movie and the resistance ultimately wins in the end. The Whistleblower is the most recent example of the fact that there are people in this country who will do the right thing despite the risks. I think the majority of Americans will do the right thing is they are asked.
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Nelson Alexander,
Did you ever serve in the Military ?
Do you know what the oath of service says ?
Is it your wild imagination that hurts the Democrats, for normal
Americans wonder if people who claim such wild scenarios
could be realized, have lost their minds.
If Trump is voted out of office, he will no longer be President.
If he is impeached and found guilty by the Senate, he will
not longer be President.
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It seems so long since a sane process of conducting government has been in place. That we are now applying the law and engaging in due process is excellent.
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I heard that Volker was once a McCain man. He longed for the days of normal conduct, too. Here's hoping we hear an earful from him.
This column is spot on. Trump has everything to lose in this fight. And nothing to gain. Best case scenario for him is that he plummets in the polls and his own party turns on him.
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Well, consider a scenario in which President Trump somehow avoids removal from office and then in 2020 makes the case that he was persecuted because he was a white knight battling against corruption and the deep state here and across the globe! I have other reasons why I think Joe Biden would be a poor choice to be the Democratic candidate in 2020, but one more reason is that having Biden as the Democratic candidate would fuel this scenario—Trump would try to turn the 2020 election into a choice of good versus evil, with Joe and his son personifying the evil.
OK, you're laughing. This wouldn't have worked a few years ago. But today with the way people get their news (often "fake news") and with how we've descended into tribalism it could happen. Who would have ever thought we could have elected someone like Donald Trump in 2016?
One thing gives me hope. What enabled Trump's 2016 election was that about 8% of the voters said they didn't approve of him but voted for him anyway and enabled his razor-thin victory. This group will again decide the election in 2020. Unlike the 40% of Americans who somewhat mindlessly support Trump no matter what I think this 8% is more skeptical and would be unlikely to buy a "white knight" appeal. On the contrary, hopefully the Ukraine mess will doom Trump with this group and in the process deep-six his chances of re-election.
So there are my two scenarios, one dystopian and one more hopeful; it will be interesting to see which one plays out.
A dear friend of mine predicted back in 2016 election that if trump was elected, no matter how, that he would single handedly destroy the Republican Party. I think he was right.
Democrats had to initiate an impeachment inquiry. Regardless of political ramifications, our leaders need to stand on principle, at least occasionally, to give us some faith in the process.
If the president did nothing wrong, make all the documents and witnesses available to prove it. If you're innocent, you have nothing to hide.
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If you're innocent, you have nothing to hide.
Tell that to the wrongly convicted
To be clear, I’m not defending Trump, but the system does get it wrong.
It's shocking the range of options that "Grim Reaper" McConnell has to tamp down impeachment once it arrives in the Senate. It's incumbent upon the Democrats to make a strong enough case in the House that McConnell is pressured to run a fair trial.
I personally think that sending multiple articles of impeachment, headed by Ukraine but also including emoluments (backed by stark financial records), is still a wise course to show a pattern of criminality required to push GOP fencesitters into the convict column.
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I'm inclined to disagree with loading the impeachment articles with several charges against Trump. It will make the Ukraine charge look weaker, as if Dem's think that the Ukraine abuse of power is not serious enough by itself. And if Republicans succeed in convincing the public of Trump's innocence on even one of the other charges, it may convince them to also doubt the primary charge. Not to mention, the public will not keep up with all the separate evidence strands, they will tune out. The Ukraine charge is already getting complicated enough.
3
The trial will not be McConnell's to run. The Senate will be presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
I was under the impression that Roberts would run the trial in the Senate.
The politics, the optics, the strategy aren’t important to me. I want my elected leaders to defend the Constitution and the rule of law. Without it we are nothing more than an oligarchy.
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The politics and strategy matter to me, a lot.
If you had a crystal ball and you knew with 100% certainty that the impeachment process would mean Senate acquittal, rising poll numbers, and eventual Trump re-election you would be insane to go down that path.
Mr. Bouie's article is the best counter argument I have yet seen suggesting that the process hurts the President's re-election chances.
The principles of rule of law and separation of powers are all well and good but there wouldn't be any of that left after four more years of this nightmare.
“Democrats don’t actually have a choice. They have to impeach, regardless of the politics, regardless of where it leads. They have to hold Trump accountable, both on the merits and to set an example for future presidents.”
I think this is absolutely correct.
We all want to have choices in life, and sometimes the most delicate ambiguities lead to the most profound growth.
But every once in a while all choice is removed from our hands. There truly is only one forward. To stand still is simply to retreat backwards; the only path is to move ahead, and there really is no choice. It has to be done.
It is situations like this that may SEEM constraining, but often in fact bring the MOST freedom. You just do it, regardless of the consequences, a true act of clarity of purpose.
That is where Trump has left the Democrats. They have no choice. They MUST do what they are doing.
And therein lies THEIR freedom, and OUR freedom as a democracy.
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I said roughly the same thing to my brother two days ago. We are heading into a storm but it's what we have to do. There is no choice about it. I agree there is something liberating about knowing you are on the right path however fraught it may appear. We must strengthen each other.
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As Hari Seldon said of a "Seldon crisis", at that point there is only one course of action.
5
AMEN!! And as Chris Mathews said last night on Hardball in his closing remarks (and I am paraphrasing) that if the American people do not stand up for what is right, then we deserve what we get!
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