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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNYT - 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 Trumps support among his base. It seems to me that the Democratic leadership is worrying more about Trumps 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.
LovingA2andMI
(7,006 posts)DO YOUR JOB NANCY!!! (Yes, We Shouted That)
Eyeball_Kid
(7,410 posts)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.
JoeOtterbein
(7,697 posts)...in the face of lies!
spanone
(135,632 posts)uponit7771
(90,225 posts)Jack-o-Lantern
(965 posts)CentralMass
(15,265 posts)BeyondGeography
(39,278 posts)Read this.
K&R
dlk
(11,430 posts)They dont deserve a pass in such a serious situation. They also have a duty to uphold the Constitution.
Mr. Evil
(2,746 posts)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.
orleans
(33,986 posts)CaptainTruth
(6,546 posts)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 ...
AllaN01Bear
(17,355 posts)dalton99a
(81,065 posts)earthshine
(1,642 posts)Even when Pelosi doesn't say it, she does.
Eyeball_Kid
(7,410 posts)democrank
(11,052 posts)Spine time
Ligyron
(7,592 posts)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.