Michael Goodwin gets it very right in his NYPost article: Pelosi’s impeachment flip-flop changes everything. The whole thing is good, but here's a teaser quote:
Pelosi may think she went only halfway Tuesday and could eventually back down on impeachment if the Ukraine issue fizzles, but that’s wishful thinking. Anything less than a public flogging of Trump will not satisfy the far left of her own party, including the 150 or so House members who already demanded impeachment before the Ukraine issue appeared.
Meanwhile, Pelosi’s endorsement also pushes the presidential candidates toward the impeachment path, whether they like it or not. None of them can possibly be against it, nor can they be wishy-washy about it.
Bet that within days, there will be virtually unanimous support among the White House wannabes. Anything less will be disqualifying among the loud left.
In short, Pelosi just changed everything. The next election is now about impeachment.
If you think America is polarized today, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Peter van Buren at AmCon:
The big difference this time around is that there’s no holy grail pee tape to quest after for three years. A transcript of the call between Trump and the Ukrainian president exists. What did Trump say? The Ukrainian government version, which is as close as we have to the truth at present, has been quietly online for two months now. It reads, “Donald Trump is convinced that the new Ukrainian government will be able to quickly improve image of Ukraine, complete investigation of corruption cases, which inhibited the interaction between Ukraine and the USA. [sic]”
Oh, ouch! WaPo:
It got almost no attention, but in May, CNN reported that Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) wrote a letter to Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Yuriy Lutsenko, expressing concern at the closing of four investigations they said were critical to the Mueller probe. In the letter, they implied that their support for U.S. assistance to Ukraine was at stake. Describing themselves as “strong advocates for a robust and close relationship with Ukraine,” the Democratic senators declared, “We have supported [the] capacity-building process and are disappointed that some in Kyiv appear to have cast aside these [democratic] principles to avoid the ire of President Trump,” before demanding Lutsenko “reverse course and halt any efforts to impede cooperation with this important investigation.”
And Ed Henry at Fox reports the Inspector General found that the "whistleblower" had political bias in favor of a candidate to run against Trump:
Your paragraph quoting the WaPo article should be linked to that article.
ReplyDeleteHumph. I thought I'd done that. That was Marc Thiessen.
DeleteI thought all the fool Pelosi had done was just change the name of what they were doing. Just allow them to keep on doing what they do best, blovate.
DeleteI see nothing positive in all this. I think there is an 80% likelihood of getting to the Senate. If so it has a 60% chance of conviction. As has been said many times - this is existential (no hyperbole) to a power transmission system in place from before living memory. It will not go quietly into that good night. Most Senate Republicans are part of that system. Never underestimate the capacity of the High Minded to rationalize self-serving betrayal "for the greater good".
ReplyDeleteNo matter the outcome 30% of the population will hold the U.S. Gov't as illegitimate. A poison pill for a Republic which is likely to be fatal.
Tom S.
I'm about to post re the call transcript.
DeleteI disagree with Tom S that Senate Republicans will convict Trump. They know that their constituents will string them up if they do. They might want to convict, but they are cowards. No way will this man be removed unless it's through an election.
ReplyDeleteIf he were removed, he'd be reelected in 2020 or 2024. Donald Trump is not one man. He is a movement.
I agree. They owe him, and they know it.
Delete