Impeachment Party? Knock Yourselves Out!
Dear Establishment Democrats,
Thank you so much for inviting me to your Impeachment Party. It's really great to hear you've finally found something to nail Trump with. Good for you! You've been looking so hard these past three years. So nice to see all that effort finally pay off!
(Of course, some might say you should have spent that time looking for solutions to all the problems the country is facing, but hey, let's not get crazy! Right?)
Unfortunately, however, I won't be able to join you at the event. Not just because I don't think Impeachment has the slightest chance of removing Trump from office, but also because it's not exactly a big hit with voters, and with an election coming up I think we'd all be better off focusing on popular Progressive policies than on unpopular Impeachment proceedings.
But hey! Please don't let me stop you! I applaud you righteous stance in defense of Joe Biden's sleazy patronage deals. I know that defense of principalle is important, but it still takes true courage to sacrifice your party's primary front runner to the Impeachment Gods so willingly.
And your amazing valor doesn't stop at Biden. Oh no. You are even willing to let Republicans dredge up Hillary's email scandal long after people had all but forgotten about Crowdstrike.
The Romans who stood in front of the charging elephants at Cannae would be proud.
And how about that Nancy Pelosi? She just gets done repairing a major rift in the House caucus caused by AOC's former campaign manager calling out the neo-Dixiecrat wing for being racists on Immigration, and now she's called upon once again to defend yet another institutional breach opened by a divisive Impeachment proceeding she has no eagerness to support.
Leonidas at Thermopylae could not have shown more fortitude.
And so, as the Dem Impeachers marshal their forces for the battle to come, knowing full well they will be charging headlong into the teeth of withering Trump artillery loaded with shells of highly explosive Epsteinium, their blithe indifference to the cold fact that many of their faves will not survive the day would make Tennyson weep.
Of course, I understand your motives for Impeachment are not wholly altruistic. With corporate donations drying up and growing pressure from Progressive primary challengers making Establishment incumbents increasingly nervous, you need some way to excite your old school base for the important election season to come.
That's why it's even more testament to your pluck that you would choose such a transparently hypocritical and overtly political hill on which to take your final stand, especially after 2016 showed so clearly that going after Trump personally only makes him more popular.
The gallantry of Custer comes to mind at such a moment.
So I say onward Impeachment soldier!
By the time the primaries roll around, your brave Establishment beserkers will have divided the party and discredited the leadership to such an extent that rank and file Dems will be begging for a Progressive intervention.
Carry On!
Yours in Impeachment,
Not Henry Kissinger
P.S.
Comments
as nearly everyone keeps saying
The Republicans embraced the Tea Party whole heartedly...and uh...won. The Democrats HATE the progressive wing of their party and fight them as they really should be fighting the Republicans. Because as everyone knows...the Dems LONG ago gave up on progressive values and embraced Wall Street money. I believe if the Tea Party threatened Wall Street donations (they didn't) the Republicans would have fought them tooth and nail also.
Well done is better than well said-Ben Franklin
Didn't Obama weigh on Ukraine to investigate Manafort?
Here's Ukrainian journalist and member of parliament Serhiy Leshchenko showing pages of alleged payments to Paul Manafort from an accounting book of the party of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych during a press conference in Kiev on Aug. 19, 2016:
It seems these pages were later deemed by prosecutors to be unreliable and weren't used in charging Manafort.
And it was just yesterday that Leschenko said:
ISTM, they are all smooth operators until they get called out (and Manafort, too, just to be clear).
Obama will surely be dragged into this.
Michelle won't be happy.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
@Wally Comparing and contrasting
Comparing and contrasting Manafort to Obama/Biden falls very short in the evidence department. The shit Manafort was proven to have done deserved prosecution (and he still got off light). What is your evidence that Obama and Biden broke laws ?
Was Manafort prosecuted for being a paid consultant?
To a foreign gubmint?
Neither were/are a lot of other Americans. I wonder if Joe has gotten himself or friends or relatives such gigs?
I'm not suggesting Manafort shouldn't be in jail. He was obviously guilty of charges of which he was found guilty and maybe other charges that didn't stick. Maybe Yanukoych should have been prosecuted for the way he arranged payments to Manafort but he's hiding out in Russia now. But those documents Lushcheko used to make a big stink to get the ball rolling against Manafort weren't used to prosecuted anyone, for reasons I'm unclear, although it seems they weren't considered somehow kosher enough.
What I'm suggesting is that while Lushchenko is being portrayed in the US media as an incorruptable force, it seems he has at least two big strikes against him.
Americans will never be able to deal with all the Ukrainian names.
Did Obama do anything illegal? Maybe that depends on what he instructed Biden to do in his dealings with Porushenko (oh, there's another one -- it would be easier if they all had names like Chalupa). Was what Nuland doing in Ukraine illegal? Was she being told to do what she did by Obama? How about Alexandra Chalupa? I think her sister Andrea may have been involved in some hijinx, too, but her name isn't even brought up.
As far as I'm concerned, lock 'em all up! Send the detainees at Guantanamo to the World Court. Pay the Cubans fair rental for Guantanamo. Give our corrupt warmongering greedy politicians the long taxpayer paid vacation they deserve, playing golf all day at Guantanamo Sardine and smelt diet. They can even have a beer once a week. I'm much, much too kind.
Hmmm let's see
How about they illegally overthrew a sovereign government and installed their own lacky puppet? People say that Ukrainians just rose up one day and decided that they didn't like the president that they had elected, but none of that would have happened without the help from people in the US government. That was one of Obama's 3 coups so yeah I'd say Obama and Joe broke some laws.
ByeDone did pressure to withhold $1 billion in aid unless Ukraine fired the prosecutor which is exactly what dems are saying Trump did.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
That the myopic political team sport mentality still runs deep
after all this time, negating all objectivity, is depressing quite frankly.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
^ This.
Sigh.
How serious are the democrats on impeaching Trump?
What will tell us is if they go on holiday for two weeks and are not going full boar on this Monday then it's kabuki
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
They have to do something now.
Pelosi opened the door. No way she gets that fully closed again.
The smart move would have been to go into recess first, hash out agreed terms and scope among the caucus, and only then announce the inquiry with a unified agenda.
This way she's created a feeding frenzy, with all sides tugging at her for their preferred outcome.
Gonna be an interesting year....
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Yeah, this seems rather abrupt
considering just five days prior Pelosi was (publically, I believe) telling Nadler to "knock it off" about impeachment. Not that I give the Dems much credit for anything, but they can at least coordinate their stories when they want to (ahem, 2016 primaries.) So far, what's surfaced is some pretty thin gruel with tons of blowback potential, although they can count on the media to leave out the Crowdstrike parts. It's pretty safe to assume this is a component of vote blue 2020, but this seems like a crazy risky gambit.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
That might have triggered it.
Such an interesting coincidence that the whistleblower complaint just happens to leak a day or two after Pelosi spanks Nadler about his disasterous Lewandowski hearing. Don'tcha think?
The timing is especially suspect given that the complaint was filed on Aug 12 about a call way back on July 25.
Pelosi had her arm twisted. How far they twist it remains to be seen.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Why did Sciff hold on to it for a month?
I find that very strange don't you? This seemed to be an urgent whistle that got blown, but now we're finding out it was from a month ago? Then there's that information that edg revealed.
Kabuki.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
As Andrew Card famously said:
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
@snoopydawg The whistleblower
The whistleblower complaint was buried and Schiff never saw it until late last week.
This is not what is being reported
Schiff received the complaint a month ago according to an article I wrote which I will find later. But see my comment in bondibox's essay. The report was written by a CIA officer who just wrote down things he was told by other people, not that he witnessed the report. Why isn't congress dragging those other so called whistleblowers in front of congress to hear directly from them what they say happened? Has this type of situation ever happened before. Doubtfully since the rules were just changed before he made his report.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Make that
the CIA whistleblower. And the former CIA Dems in Congress are pushing impeachment hard.
Very interesting.
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
Parting gift from Bolton?
Insider with an axe to grind is always a prime suspect.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
What a great RSVP NHK
If only there was a way for the establishment Dems to get a copy, I bet the look on their face would be priceless.
Thanks pro left.
They'll be getting the message soon enough.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Thanks for the chuckles with this one
Did you also know that the same pollsters who predicted a victory for Hillary by not including voters under the age of 35 in their weekly polls, have come out with some new polls saying that 79% of Democrats support impeaching Trump. Kinda makes you wonder who they asked, and how they framed the questions, don't it?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
The question they should have asked...
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Who's to say they didn't, lol.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
This impeachment process is wayyy past due.
Spineless Dems couldn't bring themselves to go for the blatant obstruction charges in the Mueller report. Yeah, so the Senate won't even bring it to a vote, so what? You do the right thing or you don't, it really is that simple.
Besides, they got nothing better to do because nothing will pass the Senate.
AOC could introduce a version of Bernie's M4A bill instead
. . . of all the other grandstanding for the sake of grandstanding. And she could endorse Bernie, too. That would be nice.
Absolutely!
To dream...
the impossible dream.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Once more for to impeach, dear friends, once more,
Or fill the twitter with our party's dead!
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
The feast of Clinton.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Brilliant!
A masterpiece of prose and picture.
Thanks Ed!
When I think of Impeachment, one word springs instantly to mind:
Merde!
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
i doff my cap to your brilliance!
great art, historical metaphors (loved custer the best).
it's her party, she'll cry if she wants to! (h/t lesley gore)
stir in this that most of you may have seen, gjonsit may have featured it earlier; thanks, spooks:
‘They got caught!’ Trump reacts to report that whistleblowers exempted from need to have firsthand info as part of ‘RECENT’ update’, sept 29, RT.com
the illuminating screen-shot tweets seemed to tough to bring; sorry...
Going out on a limb - predict that Senate will vote to impeach.
If I can find it, I'll post a podcast of the interview I heard with Mark Halperin (yes, of #MeToo fame) regarding this topic.
Bottom line, McConnell will (gladly) throw DT under the bus if he think's he, and other Republicans, can survive, politically. And, if Repubs have a feasible shot at running another candidate in 2020 (once DT bites the dust).
Makes sense to me.
Republican Game Plan - They'll likely throw support behind John Kasich, who's never stopped campaigning since his loss in 2016. He has some infrastructure, especially, in New Hampshire. And campaign staff. And, more than a few Repub Big Donors who'd be more than happy to back him.
(Because Kasich's main theme is dismantling Social Security, and, to a lesser degree, Medicare.)
Halperin even mused that Pence will be a team player, and step aside--meaning, decline to run in 2020.
IOW, for the sake of the institution of the Office Of The President, and/or the Nation, Pence will be content to try to stabilize the Government. (since there'll surely be 'bedlam' once DT is removed from Office)
Tip - (IMO) Anyone who's not begun to draw Social Security, better make a beeline to do so, before Kasich eviscerates the program.
Remember, he worked with Newtie and WJC to destroy the Social Safety Net in the 90's. (He was Chair of the House Budget Committee.)
Did find this from Halperin's blog. Still looking for podcast. The question below is from one of his surveys,
5. The biggest miscalculation of the week was
a. The White House releasing the partial transcript of the president’s phone call.
b. The Democrats staking their case on the whistle blower without knowing all the facts around him or his account.
c. The president thinking Mitch McConnell has his back.
d. Nancy Pelosi abandoning her long-held belief that impeachment shouldn’t happen without broad-based and bipartisan support.
In the radio interview, Halperin answered his own question - 'C'
or, The President thinking Mitch McConnell has his back.
After looking at some of the timeline, I'll go further than that - I believe that Pelosi and McConnell may have made a 'deal' to work together to impeach DT.
Does anyone really believe that a corporatist Business Repub like McConnell would have (in the least) enjoyed watching Cory Lewandowski's testimony--or, the thought that he might run, and win, New Hampshire? I don't. Matter of fact, I imagine that it caused poor Mitch to near faint.
Lately, I've been seeing references to how well Mitch and Pelosi work together/get along after decades. (Same was true of McConnell and Harry Reid, BTW. McConnell even called Reid a good friend in a radio interview. Reid's Office refused to comment, they were so mortified that the truth got out.)
IOW, much of what we see, is flat-out Kabuki. A show for both the Bases of the two corporatist legacy parties.
Plus, it would make sense as to 'why' Dems are near panicked to push this through, immediately.
1 - They hope to do it before the CIA whistleblower can be outed and/or discredited (by conservative media).
2 - They need to have time to have 'their' (Republican) primary. Halperin even predicted that (in addition to) the current '3' Repubs, most likely, Mitt, Ted Cruz, and, of course (the annointed candidate) John Kasich, will throw their hats in the ring for 2020.
If you think about it, Repubs wouldn't likely be able to even begin to mount even a cursory campaign, if they can't get it off the ground before the new year. Right?
Anyhoo, I'm not one who buys that 7 Freshman (Deep State, or otherwise) Representatives are calling the shots on impeachment proceedings.
I 'do' believe that the Dem PtB consider those folks to be potentially very useful--to sell the notion that DT has put us at risk when it comes to safeguarding classified material, abuse of executive power, etc. (because of their backgrounds)
IOW, they put the Freshman out front--with their recently penned Op-Ed--because Dems clearly can't openly declare that Nancy changed her mind because she's gotten Mitch to come along with her impeachment scheme/plan!
Plus, another tell - Graham appears to be a 'mole' (duping DT) for the Establishment Repubs, more and more, every day.
Case in point - On Face The Nation earlier today, below is what Graham said about "Joe Biden" -
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: --Democrats a pass and go after Republicans.
So, my question is - since when does the Big Defender of an egregiously wronged President--by their lights--declare his 'love' for his political opponent, both in Ukraine Gate, and, possibly, in the Presidential race.
That was strange, I thought.
Frankly, I'm wondering if ol' Lindsey won't be retired after that slip of the tongue. (which is what I figure it was)
Hey, gotta run the pup out. Maybe I'll have to eat crow in a couple months--we'll see. But, Halperin's strong words about McConnell's deep dislike/distrust of DT, made me look at some of this stuff in a new light.
BTW, several of the investigatory Committees have stayed in D.C. to work on this stuff. I think that includes the Intelligence Committee which is taking the lead on the Ukraine/CIA/Spy Gate investigation. (Not sure how the MSM/Press has tagged, or branded this new saga!)
Have a good one, All.
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
It is one of the enduring myths...
promoted by countless losing Dem campaigns that Republicans will turn on their leadership if given enough reason.
They never do.
They. Never. Do.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Hi, NHK. Cut finger last evening, so, will elaborate
in full, later.
Having said that, I'm more convinced (today) that I'm right, after McConnell just said he wouldn't even attempt to change Senate rules, and, will hold a trial if impeachment articles pass (this morning on CNBC).
Plus, after I reread the transcript, saw that Lindsey Graham declared his 'love' for Biden twice in his Face The Nation interview.
How's that 'defending' someone? Hey, something's rotten in Denmark, IMO.
Admittedly, wouldn't be the first time I've had to eat crow. Still, nothing changes this fast and drastically, just because 7 Freshmen conservadem Reps co-wrote an Op-Ed. Again, IMO.
Thanks for the essay. Have a good one!
[Edited: replaced but with so]
Mollie
I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.
~~Cicero
The obstacle is the path.
~~Zen Proverb
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.