This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1252002
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1252002
Why do I sense a vein of Georgeh’s endless bashing of the leadership in this piece?
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I hope they apply pressure all around in all of the existing investigations they’ve been stonewalled on but, also, I hope they bring Pence’s part in this to the forefront. When the hurricane was threatening Alabama and the rest of the East Coast trump decided to send Pence to Poland in his stead. Pence has avoided answering whether he spoke to Zelensky about the 400 million. The Dems should be sure to bring him in to this scandal and they just might be looking at President Pelosi (very unlikely that the Senate would vote that in, but I can dream).
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Finance Committee House Dems are doing a stellar job. No one reports it.
https://wallstreetonparade.com/2019/09/high-drama-in-sec-house-hearing-ignored-by-mainstream-media/
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Ron Wyden and Senate Finance Committee need some love and attention, too. In fact, this NRA shit probably explains why so many House and Senate Republicans are willing to risk everything to defend Trump even in the face of overwhelming evidence of his criminal activities.
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"With impeachment-phobia behind them and an inquiry underway, Democrats have the chance to pursue many of these untapped and untouched examples of Trump’s abuses of power. "
I think that the Ukrainian scandal has parallels to the 2016 Russian influence and ties to the Manafort case.
As such it would seem that as we get successful releases of info that we could accept the other court cases on matters very similar and not only get Trump on the overt and undeniable attempts to get a foriegn power into out elections for 2020 but also get more from Mueller’s underlying Grand Jury evidence as it goes to establishing pattern. It would seem “Saying the I-word” could get a reluctant judiciary moving.
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I think this drags on a bit and dragging in Pence is good because when Trump is cornered he may just resign, leaving Mikey as the nominee and it’s best he is appropriately trashed during this impeachment process.
However, if it looks like we will be forced to try and impeach Mikey too, I would be ok w/Nancy saying that impeachment which changes parties is a bridge too far for the American people (it may in fact be). I could live with Grassley (next in line) as a caretaker for a couple months.
Dems would look magnanimous, undercut accusations of hyperpartisanship, open another Senate seat to defend in IA and likely leave a disheveled 2020 nominee with little time to get a proper campaign going. Grassley’s a kook but less dangerous than many repubs, he would also be somewhat constrained due to the circumstances of his ascension.
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Yes, all that is too much to hope for. I’d be happy to see trump resign and get hung in the states courts after Pence pardons him. This is still way to early in the process to hope for any outcome. I’m glad it’s finally happening and from what it looks like they’ve screwed themselves.
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Funny, when I think of this administration, I think they should go screw themselves.
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This has truly confounded Pelosi/Schumer/Hoyer because they absolutely DO NOT want to lift a finger to defend the US Constitution; they know there’s risk in doing their sworn duty. These Democrats are extremely wealthy people who get enormous benefits from GOP financial policies; so there is a serious conflict of interests in how they conduct oversight. They take no pride in fighting for law and order; to them, it’s all a calculation as to how it will effect their own grip on power. The idea of letting chips fall where they may is simply untenable. Even if Dems pursue impeachment, it’ll be a sloppy, haphazard effort that ensures Trump skates. Changing the status quo is the most feared thing to politicians. Dems are no different. We need 245 AOCs in the House and then we’d see what true progressive governance looks like.
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I stopped at “cowardly consensus.” No need to read any further. People had real and very valid concerns about going forward with impeachment. That doesn’t make them cowards.
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How do they practice oversight when a corrupt President rules by Executive fiat, and with a complacent Senate and judiciary.
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I of course agree with this editorial. The unstated political advantage of conducting relentless, ever-spreading oversight is that it keeps the GOP on the defensive and is obviously demoralizing. Make sure that none of them gets a good night’s sleep, that they can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. You’ll get more resignations, more leaks, more internal division. Make it apparent to any prospective GOP hack that corruption will lead to nothing but exposure and misery.
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Citation(s) please.
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I remember the Watergate hearings. That was must-see TV. I know the media landscape is very different now, but blockbuster revelations still attract a lot of attention.
Trump’s apologists are reduced to claiming that his crimes are all normal presidential behavior when everybody knows this stuff is insane.
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Which reminds me, Nancy or some Dem surrogate has got to lay all these charges out in bumper-sticker simplicity in – preferably – more than one press conference that would be picked up by most outlets, the AP, and even the GOP-favorable suburban papers. So many people simply do not understand the seriousness of all this. I fear too many will see it as analogous to impeaching Clinton for a blowjob.
It’s not just Trump’s crimes, but those of his courtiers who work to cover it all up. These latter just don’t seem to care that he’s a tool of Putin. Have we ever had a POTUS who has colluded with a foreign adversary?
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OK, you’re analysis skills are obviously pretty thin (assuming you aren’t some republican or russian shill), so I’ll go ahead and lay this out. Pelosi almost single handedly stopped the privatization of Social Security and fought tooth and nail for the ACA. Anyone trying to tilt the scale toward right wing economic policies would not have done that. She also wouldn’t have announced an impeachment inquiry. After all, why would she care about her position or pressure from dem voters? She has already stated she won’t run again, and she were as craven as you claim, pissing all over dems would be her easiest way to ensure republicans retain control and continue to set financial policy.
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Several mainstream media articles are extolling the virtue of a “limited, focused” impeachment inquiry that deals only with the Ukraine, and does so quickly. I don’t see it.
I think Pelosi will (or should) farm the impeachment investigation out to the existing investigating committees and let them pursue their own subjects – be those emoluments, tax fraud, Ukraine, or whatever – but now with the added legal power that an ongoing impeachment process will give to their demands and subpoenas.
I don’t see the harm if this drags out well into next summer (or maybe Christmas 2020).
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I like reading Josh’s editorials sometimes even when I don’t always agree. He is the editor I get it. I really don’t care for this “Cafe” stuff. Stop telling the democrats what they ought to do. Most of us who read the news articles can comment if we wish. We really don’t need our hands held.
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I stopped at -
That is how we found ourselves eight months into House Democrats’ tenure with almost no important oversight to show for it. Most House committees have treated oversight as a box to be checked by perfunctory hearings. Real efforts to uphold their constitutional duty to counter Trump’s corruption through, for example, combative hearings and litigation to enforce subpoenas, have been the exception rather than the rule.
It’s like they have no knowledge of the court cases filed by Dems to seek compliance with the law. 
Cc @imkmu3
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