Rep Brenda Lawrence no longer supports impeachment in abrupt reversal (but, she's back on board now)

[Dennis Donovan]

Last edited Tue Nov 26, 2019, 01:05 PM - Edit history (2)

https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2019/11/26/us-rep-brenda-lawrence-no-longer-supports-impeaching-trump-in-abrupt-reversal

Posted By Steve Neavling on Tue, Nov 26, 2019 at 9:37 am

U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence has changed her mind on impeaching President Trump.

Appearing on Charlie LeDuff’s No BS News Hour podcast on Sunday, the Southfield Democrat said she now favors censure over impeachment.

"We are so close to an election," Lawrence said. "I will tell you, sitting here knowing how divided this country is, I don't see the value of taking him out of office. I do see the value of putting down a marker saying his behavior is not acceptable."



Her comments are a significant departure from her pervious statements about impeachment.

“There has been clear examples of violations of policy, rules, and overstepping power,” Lawrence said in an Oct. 3 news release. “I feel very confident that we must move forward with impeachment.”

</snip>

WTF!!

On edit: Backtracking a bit:

Link to tweet

[dewsgirl]

1. WTF!

[captain queeg]

5. My response exactly

[TheBlackAdder]

35. It reminds me of this Team America scene. NSFW

.

.

[dewsgirl]

40. LOL😆

[CurtEastPoint]

2. That's about as effective as 'Don't make me stop the car/come back there/blah blah' Toothless

[Roland99]

3. Putting down a marker??

Jeezus

[H2O Man]

4. There is an

on-going republican campaign to pressure the Democrats in districts that they believe are vulnerable in 2020. I just posted an OP on this very topic, concerning NYS district 22. We need to engage in our own campaign to counter this.

I absolutely agree with your comment about her duty to the Constitution. She took an oath. And the Constitution, as well as the Federalist Papers #65 & 66, make clear that Trump is guilty of committing the exact acts that the Founding Fathers agreed required impeachment and conviction.

[Dennis Donovan]

10. The timing is very frustrating. Coming on the heels of the public hearings...

...and with the republicans pushing a false "support for impeachment waning" narrative as we speak, she could've simply said *nothing*.

[H2O Man]

15. I agree.

I hope that you post her office number for people to call. And I hope that you don't mind if I link my OP here on your thread. We need to get the DU community engaged in organized (at least semi-organized) grass roots actions.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212731046

[Kid Berwyn]

13. Absolutely.

Ms. Lawrence is getting pressure from the professional RWNJs who have flooded the airwaves, internet and phone lines — plus those in our own party who have been cowed by a Politico poll.

Ms. Lawrence will vote as she sees best — once all the facts are in.

[H2O Man]

16. It's interesting .....

Last week, if I remember correctly, I noted in an OP that Senate republicans were trying to find a compromise .....some had even mentioned it in "off-the-record" talks with some Democrats the possibility of censuring, rather than impeaching, Trump.

[Kid Berwyn]

33. Trial balloons to see where the wind blows.

Censure is the least a traitor deserves.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

6. Elections are NOT the remedy for an abusive President

committing illegal acts! *ugh*

Especially when the reason an Impeachment Inquiry even exists is because of Trump's attempts to gain an advantage on the 2020 Presidential Election!!!!

[Iwasthere]

41. Exactly! I have been saying that wherever I can for more than a year 1/2

The Elections 2020.. Futile. They do not, and Will not fight fair. We must stop getting walked on. Impeach the Asshole and his gang(s)

[Proud Liberal Dem]

44. The Elections mean nothing if they are actually rigged

I'm so glad that the whistleblower came out with their complaint and we didn't just find out about all of this after the 2020 Election.

[StarfishSaver]

7. This headline is somewhat misleading

She didn't say she wouldn't vote to impeach. She said she doesn't see the value of taking him out of office but does think that a censure would be more effective and she'll encourage her colleagues to support censure over impeachment. Good luck with that. And when there is no censure resolution - because that would be stupid - and her only choice is to vote for impeachment or vote for no consequences, she'll surely vote for impeachment.

She's going to have to clarify her comment soon - I have a feeling someone from Pelosi's leadership team, if not Pelosi herself, has already had a little talk with her.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

8. I hope somebody has spoken to her

Censure is toothless and not close to appropriate here IMHO

[StarfishSaver]

11. I wouldn't be surprised if she just threw that out there to try to show her constituents that

she's not impeachment-obsessed but is trying to find some other way to hold him accountable. But in the end, I'm sure her vote for impeachment is safe.

[Hortensis]

25. Yes. And almost certainly she and Pelosi/Hoyer spoke FIRST

about the form a protective statement would take. Like 99.9% likely. The only people who could want her reelected more than she does herself are them. And party support is hugely important to reelection.

[StarfishSaver]

26. True - that's a really good point

[dewsgirl]

9. Because censure will really show him. 😲

[calimary]

19. Yeah, no kidding.

No. We HAVE TO leave a mark. Censure means squat. Nothing. Zip. Nada. Zero.

Actually, censure in this case means nothing but cowardice.

This bastard MUST be impeached. That is an absolute MUST. For the level of deliberate, wanton, reckless, thoughtless, creepy, selfish, short-sighted, and outright LAWLESS and utterly CRIMINAL behavior of this so-called “pResident,” impeachment is the only move we can make.

He should have to live the rest of his miserable life with that mark by his name. And go into the history books with that permanent blot on his record.

[dewsgirl]

21. Indeed.✊

[kentuck]

12. I'd say her seat is definitely "endangered" now.

It's hard for a Democrat to win with just Republican votes.

[dewsgirl]

22. Oh yeah it is. 😠

[The_Counsel]

29. Yep. She Should Have a Talk with Senator Phil Bredesen About This...

...oh, wait: HE'S NOT SENATOR, IS HE?

Taking a GOP stance in order to gain GOP votes didn't go so well for him, did it?

And for the 50,000,000th time, THE PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY SPOKEN ON WHETHER MR. TRUMP SHOULD BE HELD TO TASK ON HIS CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR IN THE OFFICE! If the GOP were left in charge in the House, there would be NO IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY AT ALL. Regardless of how much info came to light. Regardless of who got popped. We probably would never have seen even a redacted version of the Mueller Report. The GOP would have been all "nothing to see here...."

I'm not yelling at you, kentuck...I'm just sick of these bullshit excuses. If the President committed crimes, justice should be brought to bear on behalf of the People who have been wronged. I don't care if it's the day before the election or an hour before the Inauguration; if the President violates the Constitution s/he swore to uphold and protect, kick 'em straight in the ass!

The end.

[Bleacher Creature]

14. This seems like a good way to piss everyone off.

Does she think this will help her with Republicans? That they'll vote for her instead of an actual Republican? All this seems to do is alienate Democrats.

[superpatriotman]

17. Taking him out of office?!

No thinking person has ever thought this was a possibility.

[dalton99a]

18. WTF, indeed. It is a solid blue district.

[GoCubsGo]

20. So...Who is threatening her?

[mopinko]

27. this right here.

that would be the salient question.

[StarfishSaver]

28. Probably no one

Everyone needs to calm down. This isn't that big of a deal. This comment is probably addressing some local politics she has to deal with and as Hortensis noted, Pelosi and Hoyer probably knew about and blessed it before she said it.

I'm sure she'll vote for impeachment without question. The road ahead is clear and we've got experts navigating it - Don't get worked up over blips along the way.

[OliverQ]

32. The problem is zero Republicans are going to vote for impeachment.

And probably a few Democrats will vote against it. That means, not only will impeachment not be bipartisan, even the Democratic caucus isn't sticking together.

That's going to hurt public perception.

[StarfishSaver]

36. Which Democrats do you think will vote against impeachment?

I don't think Lawrence is one of them.

[MattP]

23. She waited till after primary I assume

Probably a big donation helped make up her mind sad

[Hortensis]

24. Pelosi's/Hoyer's reaction is mine. Fine with them, fine with me.

We MUST get majority power out of the hands of the Republican Party. Federal and as many states as possible. And every single seat we hold or possibly could is a critical objective.

[Dennis Donovan]

39. We could lose her district and still be ahead 35 seats

This is about her keeping her job, and it's cowardly on her part.

[kacekwl]

30. He should be impeached and

immediately upon losing the election be charged for the many crimes he and his crew have committed.

[OliverQ]

31. This is disgusting. She needs to be primaried.

She thinks an Election Trump is actively cheating in is going to be the remedy to deal with his crimes? She's an idiot.

[StarfishSaver]

37. She didn't say she won't support impeachment

Everyone needs to calm down.

And her constituents will be the ones to determine whether she should be primaried.

[gibraltar72]

34. Let us not forget this.

[StarfishSaver]

38. Are you one of your constituents?

[gibraltar72]

45. actually nearby however

I get requests to donate to several in the state. She will be at bottom of list.

[stillcool]

42. I read the article...

just so I wouldn't write nasty sh*t about her that she doesn't deserve.

[getagrip_already]

43. censure is a non-starter.....

Moscow Mitch would just kill it. It wouldn't even make it out of whatever committee it lands in, just like every bill the house has passed this year.

[Takket]

46. i feel a LITTLE better having read the statement she put out afterwards.......

but she comes across as very wishy-washy. Maybe this won't garner much national attention but we look pretty bad when we are trying to tell the public this is necessary and it looks like we cannot even convince our own caucus it is. What kind of message does that send?

I just hope the GOP doesn't seize on this comment and use it against us...... yeah I know she "clarified" but the GOP sound machine is great as amplifying half-statements and things out of context and the media happily goes along with it.