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NRaleighLiberal

(59,940 posts)
Wed May 29, 2019, 10:17 PM May 2019

NYT - Charles Blow "Democrats, Do Your Damned Duty!"

Doing what is right on impeachment should not be a mere option.

By Charles M. Blow
Opinion Columnist

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/opinion/trump-democrats-impeachment.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

What the hell is it going to take, Democrats?!

What evidence and impetus would compel you to do the job the Constitution, patriotism and morality dictate?

What is it going to take to make you initiate an impeachment inquiry?

Your slow walking of this issue and your specious arguments about political calculations are pushing you dangerously close to a tragic, historic dereliction of duty, one that could do irreparable damage to the country and the Congress.


snip

Democrats need to stop worrying about how best to weaken Trump’s support among his base. It seems to me that the Democratic leadership is worrying more about Trump’s base than their own.

I want to be able to believe in equitable justice in this country. I want to believe that no person is above the law. I want to believe that wealth and power will not insulate those who possess them from a justice that would be enacted upon the poor and powerless with ruthless efficiency.

But, every time I want to believe that, America — its history and its present — asserts in booming clarity that that is not the case, that is not how or why the system was built.

Democrats have a chance, but more important, an obligation to assert in opposition that on occasion American justice can be blind. I would argue that there is an even more profound opportunity cost to not pursuing impeachment.

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NYT - Charles Blow "Democrats, Do Your Damned Duty!" (Original Post) NRaleighLiberal May 2019 OP
YES!!!! LovingA2andMI May 2019 #1
I'm getting concerned that Nancy just can't pull the trigger. Eyeball_Kid May 2019 #15
Politics is never an acceptable answer for inaction. We need clarity... JoeOtterbein May 2019 #2
K&R...👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 spanone May 2019 #3
K&R for Impeachment process not vote uponit7771 May 2019 #4
Yes!!! + 1000! Jack-o-Lantern May 2019 #5
K&R CentralMass May 2019 #6
Very strong BeyondGeography May 2019 #7
Let's Not Let Republicans Off the Hook dlk May 2019 #8
You know what I would love to see? Mr. Evil May 2019 #9
yes! n/t orleans May 2019 #10
And why exactly does he believe they aren't? CaptainTruth May 2019 #11
get off yer duff and get a move on. AllaN01Bear May 2019 #12
It is a constitutional duty. dalton99a May 2019 #13
Impeachment is off the table. earthshine May 2019 #14
Then her plan has to project better results than impeachment. n/t Eyeball_Kid May 2019 #16
Charles Blow is right. democrank May 2019 #17
What are they Afraid of? Ligyron May 2019 #18

Eyeball_Kid

(7,410 posts)
15. I'm getting concerned that Nancy just can't pull the trigger.
Thu May 30, 2019, 01:33 AM
May 2019

She took impeachment off the table with Bush43. She saw her position as weak and that she wouldn't get to votes, so that was it. Nancy, as experienced a politician as she is, hasn't come to terms with the fact that not all of reality comes down to counting the votes. Nancy doesn't want to live with the fact that she's supposed to be preserving and protecting the Constitution. You know, her oath and all. She knows that Trumpy is working hard, every day, to defeat the Constitution. She knows that Trumpy is engaged in a massive power grab to neutralize Congress and the Courts. She must also know that Trumpy has registered gains in this regard. So what is she doing?

She has to put on her best show during the impeachment hearings. She had better go for the throat, for there is no second chance. Her case for impeachment has to be rock solid because that is what the US public must conclude in the afterglow. Her task is enormous but mandatory.

dlk

(11,430 posts)
8. Let's Not Let Republicans Off the Hook
Wed May 29, 2019, 11:30 PM
May 2019

They don’t deserve a pass in such a serious situation. They also have a duty to uphold the Constitution.

Mr. Evil

(2,746 posts)
9. You know what I would love to see?
Thu May 30, 2019, 12:17 AM
May 2019

I would love to know what the NSA knows. What recordings and other transmissions they have.
I would love to know what the CIA knows and what they've received from their assets in Russia.
I would love to know what the FBI knows. They know scams and Trump is the scammiest of all.
I would love to know what FinCEN knows. As long as they can hide it from Mnuchin, they must have some whoppers.

I'm hoping that once the impeachment process begins that a treasure trove of information regarding Trump will come out. Maybe this is why impeachment of him is on the slow train. Maybe there is much more information about many more people than some would like to get out. There has to be something darker and deeper going on for Trump to be tolerated for this long.

CaptainTruth

(6,546 posts)
11. And why exactly does he believe they aren't?
Thu May 30, 2019, 12:41 AM
May 2019

So many folks seem to believe that impeachment is the ONLY way Congress can hold a president accountable ... honestly, it just reveals their lack of knowledge. It gets really tiring ...

Ligyron

(7,592 posts)
18. What are they Afraid of?
Thu May 30, 2019, 03:50 PM
May 2019

Trump's overhyped "base" are all in, hate anything with a "D" and won't grow larger or magically get more votes just because impeachment hearings are initiated.

Impeachment will get way more TV air time than mere committees ever will, which is exactly what is needed to educate the public, much of whom have little idea what this is about or frankly what to believe as things stand right now. They need a showbiz, on air movie production to hold their interest, not some dull book assignment.

Of course the Senate will probably never vote to convict but that's not the only thing this is about. It's about forcing the media to showcase this production while putting more teeth into enforcing subpoenas and compelling witnesses to actually show up. It will also goad Trump into further ongoing obstruction of justice crimes.

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