Thursday, December 19, 2019

A meaningless impeachment...that Democrats MUST be held accountable for

I thought about kicking this post off with the BabylonBee's joke of an article entitled, "Dems To Congratulate Each Other On Meaningless Impeachment Vote With 'I Voted To Impeach Trump' Stickers" (hilarious satire). However, I'd previously read Joel Pollak's piece on precisely how House Democrats violated the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments in this farce of an inquiry, not to mention how that second article charging “obstruction of Congress” punishes the president for simply obeying the Constitution’s checks-and-balances! On top of that, the sticker shock thus far is no joke (but I'm still using BB's fake sticker that's as ridiculous as this impeachment itself)...
It’s costing taxpayers — bigly, as President Trump would say.

As House Democrats have pursued impeachment for the past three months, they’ve already cost taxpayers $3.06 million, according to Heritage Foundation research.

Add up lawyers’ fees and the salaries of staff whose duties have been consumed by impeachment proceedings, and taxpayers are footing a hefty bill. As the Daily Signal reports, the price tag could be even higher:
The total likely is a low estimate because it does not factor in overtime hours for U.S. Capitol Police when House hearings ran well into the late evening. The total also doesn’t include the cost of executive branch expenses, travel costs for witnesses, or supplies and materials.
...each second costs taxpayers more money.
Again, that's just the past three months. Let's not forget how long the do-nothing Dems have actually been dragging this effort out, which exponentially adds to that tally...
But with all kinds of expensive, unconstitutional irritants foisted on us throughout this absurd process, I didn't just wanna rehash the details in some deadpan manner, or guess Pelosi & comrades' next move, as they lose more support for their efforts across their own blue shores, which is obviously not working for them the way they'd hoped...
A great “tell” is this story from the Washington Post: “Impeachment has commanded widespread attention. The political impact may be more muted.” Here’s some blather from the story:
When the dust clears, the result is most likely to look more like a draw than a victory, say political strategists from both sides. Ten weeks of the House impeachment inquiry have spun an already polarized country through yet another centrifuge of outrage, further separating champions of the president from those who see him a danger to the country.
Translation: Impeachment isn’t working for Democrats. If it was, the Post wouldn’t equivocate. They have to put a good face on it, so like the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail after he’d had his arms and legs hacked off, the Post is saying, “Okay, we’ll call it a draw.”
Rather, I ran across this comprehensive piece from a former Bush strategist no less. Though I don't completely agree with the sentiment that President Trump should "put impeachment behind him and refocus on reelection, keeping one thing in mind: Success is the best revenge," because I think this president is capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time! I do however think there's a good sense of setting the stage nicely for 2020 and settling this nonsensical misuse of impeachment as a political weapon once and for all...
Democrats have been pledging to impeach President Trump from the moment he was elected in 2016. And on Dec. 18, 2019, more than three years later, they finally succeeded.

But it will be a fleeting victory, as acquittal in the Senate is assured. The outcome was never in doubt and this entire endeavor has been an enormous waste of time. Which raises the question: Why pursue a partisan impeachment that was doomed to fail?

Answer: Removal from office was never the goal. Democrats have always had only one goal in mind: Defeating Mr. Trump for reelection. Their entire mission is to weaken the president’s political standing next year.
I don't doubt this as one of their reasons to impeach a sitting president in his first term, a first in itself. But I also think this deflects from the previous administration's corruption, some of their own members' corruption, and at least one of their nominee's corrupt dealings, of course all with the aid of a lapdog media downplaying at every turn. Yet, it's coming out anyway, thanks to this administration. The piece goes on to speak of the coalescence occurring...
While the case for impeachment has never developed, Democrats held hands and jumped off the cliff together, taking vulnerable members from Trump districts with them. Their votes to impeach him will make it impossible to run as independent, bipartisan members of Congress next year.

For Mr. Trump, while impeachment has surely been unpleasant and must feel deeply unfair, it has helped him politically. Republicans have never been more unified than they are right now. Democrats are somewhat divided, with vulnerable members not wanting to pursue impeachment but ultimately voting for it from fear of their base.

The Trump campaign has seen an astounding 600,000 new donors since impeachment began. There is new enthusiasm for Mr. Trump because of this impeachment debacle. Public polling has shown a decrease in support for impeachment and an uptick in the president’s job-approval rating. ...

Voters have the final say... Demonstrating popular support for his agenda and an endorsement of the direction of the country will undermine the meaning of impeachment. At the same time, Congressional Republicans should make Democrats own impeachment and hold them accountable for ignoring the problems facing the country in pursuit of a hyperpartisan goal.
This absolutely needs to be driven home, I would argue, more severe than some would like to let them off the hook for putting the country through, for the cost of this sham impeachment has not been insignificant...
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, needlessly delayed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement for more than a year as a bargaining chip with moderate Democratic members in return for supporting impeachment. No meaningful legislative progress has been made toward an infrastructure bill or other key legislative priorities. And next year will be worse, as legislation dies in election years.

What do Democrats have to show for their majority? Their two years in control will be dominated by impeachment, which made no one’s life better and was not even a promise they made to the electorate in 2018.

Impeachment was an overreach, much like Obamacare was in 2009, and Mrs. Pelosi has pushed both through Congress. In 2010, she lost her majority. The question now is whether that can happen again in 2020?
Americans, I'll tell it like Levin would: It's up to you to toss these miscreants and malcontents out on their asses come November 2020! They still won't learn a damn thing from it, but it is the only way to prevent them from incurring more damage on our great nation from within. The piece concludes with this foretelling...
In history, this impeachment chapter will appear small and meaningless. There was no crime, no victim and the Ukrainians said they weren’t pressured. Democrats claimed bribery and extortion, but never came close to proving it and chose not to pursue articles of impeachment of these accusations.

Democratic crocodile tears over Ukraine are absurd. They made no defense of Ukraine when the Obama administration refused to provide defensive weaponry to Ukraine after Russia seized Crimea.

Mr. Trump cannot formally erase the House impeachment vote, but he can erase its significance.

Earning reelection in 2020 will permanently state public opposition to impeachment.
And holding these bastards accountable, both at the voting booth and before our courts of law, must be our permanent recourse. Oh, and that reminds me, one last thing...
Meanwhile, if I read the Senate calendar correctly, while the House was debating impeachment, the Senate was confirming 13 new federal judges Trump appointed. Sounds like winning to me.
Related link: We the People Are Being Impeached AND Convicted by Congress

ADDENDUM: Besides holding Dems accountable, Levin's come up with a superb strategy for McConnell and Senate Republicans, if in fact Pelosi intends to hold onto these articles, thereby holding the Senate hostage to her fascistic will...
Related link: Dem Law Professor who was Nadler impeachment witness says Trump NOT impeached until Pelosi sends articles to Senate!
Posted by an ebb and flow at 5:28 PM