Towards Impeachment

[KeithE]

The shear multiplicity of Trump’s scandals, character flaws, corruption, and cruel policies demand congressional oversight and accountability.

has 30 counts most of which should lead to impeachment and removal.

I understand the real possibility that the Senate would (after an approximately a year long struggle in the House and in the Courts) fail to remove Trump. Then I could just hear Trump claim a “totally exonerated” martyrdom before Nov 2020.

But the Constitutional process should be followed, imo. What do ya’ll think?

Do read and cogitate on the link.

[Sandy]

Unless we want to set a precedent for bypassing the rule of law and ignoring the constitution in the case of Presidents who are also criminals, then this impeachment needs to move forward. They have more specific impeachable offenses on Trump than on Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton combined and if there were a Republican majority in the house, and a Democrat had done a third of what Trump has done, the articles would already be written and passed.

I think the attorney general should also be impeached and removed for lying about the contents of a special investigation report. What he did was way out of the boundaries of "political spin." Even without the redactions, the report is a blistering indictment of Trump, his campaign and a good chunk of his administration. No wonder so many birds flew the coop. And if you want to wade through it, it will take a little while, but it will leave you wondering how the words "no collusion" connect with any of the activity in the report. There was no conspiracy to commit collusion, but there is solid evidence of Russian meddling in the election, purposefully to help Trump get elected and there was campaign information and polling data given to the Russians by members of the Trump campaign. Perhaps there was even a bit of partisan bias on Mueller's part, he is after all still a Republican. Do we want Russia, or perhaps at some point Iran or North Korea, using their resources in the future to help elect someone they see as more beneficial to their regime?

Yes, it's less than two years to the election, and while there is an element of the electorate whose lack of discernment and extremist partisan bias has allowed them to ignore the crimes in favor of partisan social issues and that it is disturbing, though not surprising. But if you look at what Trump has done, it is more important to set politics aside and make sure this man is removed from the Presidency. I think there will be enough senators who, after seriously reading this report and considering the evidence, will decide supporting their country is more important than supporting partisanship. If not, I don't think the American people are going to give him four more years.

[William Thornton]

Common Dreams dreams of impeachment. Who would have predicted that?

"Set politics aside" sniffs Sandy who isn't the least bit familiar with that concept.

Follow the "constitutional process" intones Keith who once suggested an unconstitutional re-do of the Trump-Hil election.

You get a vote. I get a vote. All God's chillins, and some felons if the irascible socialist gets his way, gets a vote...in about 18 months. Impeachment would be a disastrous Democratic strategy which is why almost all of the leftists are running from it.

But let's hear from the avuncular, hair sniffing, hair-plugged, Botox-friendly, loose-lipped octogenarian candidate on that.

[Dave Roberts]

[KeithE]

[KeithE]

[Sandy]

[William Thornton]

Who's calling names? Biden is all of those things. If he was trump's opponent in 2016 rather than the rigged nominee, I might have voted for him.

[Sandy]

The rigged nominee? ROFL. Wow, you're full of laugh lines today. I'd have to see some convincing evidence that you'd have voted for Biden over Trump.

Age is a concern. The Presidency is physically and mentally demanding and you can see that in photos taken early in a President's term compared to later. Trump is right up there and exhibits signs of dementia and insanity, which Sanders and Biden don't. There are plenty of younger candidates to choose from as running mates if either of the "old guys" wins the nomination, so It's not a major concern at the top of the list. Once the campaign gets going, and some of the younger candidates get more name recognition and their positions better known, their numbers against Trump will get up there in the lofty heights with Biden and Sanders.

There are some sharp young candidates in the Democratic field that will get a lot of attention over time. Eric Swalwell, a congressman from California, is one of them. I've met him personally on two different occasions, and had an opportunity to discuss a couple of issues. He's a "people's representative," not a partisan hack.

It looks like there might be a couple of Republican primary challengers as well. Well, we already know William Weld is in there. He's no spring chicken, nor is Mitt Romney who is gearing up for a primary challenge to Orange Hair. So youth is on the side of the Democrats.

[Haruo]

Regardless of whether anybody in the Trump campaign was "colluding" with the Russians, you have to (or ought to) kinda wonder why the Russians were so gung-ho pro-Trump.

[Rvaughn]

[Sandy]

[Rvaughn]

My pessimistic view of politicians makes me expect that for more than not, whether to impeach is viewed from the standpoint of what political impact it will have.

[Sandy]

[Joseph Patrick]

[Sandy]

If you hold the legal perspective that a sitting President cannot be indicted for crimes he either commits while in office or before he was elected, then constitutionally the only body where he can be held accountable is Congress. He committed crimes, not just those in the Mueller report. If the Republicans, who invented a crime to accuse Bill Clinton and then moved forward knowing they didn't have a chance of getting a conviction in the senate, are not willing to consider Trump's multiple felonies, then they are hypocrites and liars and should be voted out. Even if it changes the scope of the 2020 election, the Democrats need to get this president's criminal acts on the record and put about a dozen up for re-election senators on a hot seat to squirm if they fail to vote to remove.

[Dave Roberts]

My thought is that the hesitancy to begin impeachment proceedings may reflect a historical awareness that the impeachments brought have never resulted in the conviction and expulsion of a POTUS from office. Rather, each has followed its own path. The impeachment of Andrew Johnson failed by one vote I the Senate. Richard Nixon's never came to a vote as he resigned in fear that he would lose. Bill Clinton's was many votes shy as I recall. An impeachment resolution in the House might result in an emasculation of the Trump presidency, but even if the Senate flips, there is little likelihood that conviction is possible.

[Haruo]

[Sandy]

[Dave Roberts]

Graham is up for re-election in 2020. He is afraid he will not be returning from SC. That's what all the nervousness is about. He is trying to placate the SC electorate which for the first time looks questionable on sending him back.

[KeithE]

by Alan Hirsch, a Constitutional Scholar. Includes a 57 minute interview with Hirsch.

[Tim Bonney]

[Sandy]

[Tim Bonney]

[Sandy]

If a president committed crimes, and the report is pretty clear that this one did, then he needs to be held accountable. Trump has been trying every trick in the book to use the power of the presidency to move heaven and earth to keep people from seeing this thing. If he's innocent, and cleared, and it's over, then just release the whole report yourself if you've got nothing to lose. Otherwise, why move people into place to lie for you and then violate the constitutional provisions of the job they've been appointed to serve in order to run interference for you? This is how the wealthy live above the law. So if you support trump, then stop whining about the second amendment or people coming across the border illegally. You can't support him and believe in the law.

Otherwise, this sets a precedent for every future presidency and the Republicans need to start thinking about those consequences because they are heading into a long stretch of Democratic controlled congresses and presidencies.

I think the best campaign strategy the Democrats now have to win in 2020 is to move forward with impeachment and make sure that every single senator is on the record and on television being asked the question, "Do you think it is ok for the president to commit this crime and get away with it?" for every single one of the obstruction charges in that report. I guarantee you, any Republican senator that doesn't vote to boot him who is up for re-election in 2020 will lose their seat. It will also increase the already heavy odds in favor of whomever the Democrats nominate for the presidency.