Impeachment is neither a easy task nor a fool's errand
And I don’t think anyone realistically thinks the Democrats would be so stupid as to draft articles of impeachment on January 3rd.
So can we cut out the false framing in that regard?
There will need to be further investigation from Mueller and a final report. We will see public hearings with public testimony. We will see indictments of people like Don Jr., Jared and others in Trump’s inner circle.
Once that has happened the specter of impeachment will not be seen as tilting at windmills.
This is the type of scenario impeachment was envisioned for. The two times the full House voted on impeachment—Andrew Johnson and Clinton—historians have agreed it was politically motivated and not worthy of impeachment.
But the one time where impeachment charges were approved but not voted upon—Nixon—it is agreed that impeachment was undoubtedly warranted. And the evidence was so overwhelming so as to force resignation.
Republicans will have to run a candidate in 2020. Right now that candidate is Trump. If Trump is seen as being so compromised and criminally culpable there will be whisperings within the GOP as to how to quell the damage. And contrary to what people think, it will not take a majority of GOP senators to remove. A sizeable minority, yes, but not a majority.
We can not resign ourselves to simply hoping Trump will be voted out in 2020. Political courage to do the right thing will be required.
Criminal behavior from the President of the United States cannot be tolerated or written off as merely political.
Period.