Democrats face a dilemma on impeachment

[DonViejo]

First Read is your briefing from "Meet the Press" and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.

March 1, 2019, 8:33 AM EST

By Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann

WASHINGTON — Democrats have a problem on their hands.

How do they reconcile their growing belief that President Trump has committed crimes — especially after Michael Cohen’s testimony on Wednesday — with their hesitation/reluctance to consider impeachment?

“Impeachment is the most serious thing you can do in American democracy. So it’s not ever something that you can take lightly,” Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, told MSNBC’s Kay Tur yesterday. “It’s something that obviously you need a big number of members of congress to believe in and to buy into and really for the American people to believe in.”

Yes, going down Impeachment Road is a political risk. (Hello, Newt Gingrich and congressional Republicans!) And yes, Democrats want to wait for Mueller. But if you believe that what President Trump has done is WAY WORSE than Clinton ever did, aren’t you tolerating/normalizing this kind of behavior if you don’t consider impeachment ASAP?

As Yoni Appelbaum wrote recently in The Atlantic, impeachment is a procedure the Founding Fathers spelled out to debate whether a president has committed crimes or lived up to his oath of office.

Bottom line: There’s no easy answer here for Democrats.

But here’s something to chew on: Has the impeachment process already begun (with Cohen’s testimony, more hearings, Mueller on the way), but Democrats just aren’t calling it that?

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/democrats-face-dilemma-impeachment-n978066?cid=public-rss_20190301

[ginnyinWI]

1. I've read the Atlantic article.

The important take away is that even if he doesn't leave office after being impeached, the fact that he was will seriously undermine his authority and power. It will serve as a check on him, and might even make him choose not to run for re-election.

It's a healthy thing for our democracy, no matter the outcome.

[pecosbob]

2. I refuse to accept the common meme that there is a down-side to impeachment.

Dems just need to amp their messaging and media appearances.

[global1]

3. Seems To Me We Have To Be Very Calculating About Impeachment.....

The worse thing that can happen is impeachment proceedings begin and the ball gets rolling to remove Trump - but the Repugs in the Senate - like they always do - circle the wagons around Trump and Trump makes it through the impeachment process and remains in office.

We'll never hear the end of it if that happens. It would be the ultimate normalization of Trump world and give him a license to do anything he wants to do.

As much as I'd like to see Trump impeached and out of office and in jail - if we don't wait until the bulk of Trump's crimes are exposed - and we get - even the sitting Repugs behind the impeachment process - if the trigger is pulled too early - the consequences could be worse than we even can imagine right now.

[marylandblue]

4. Yeah, that's the problem exactly, and it relates to a key tool in a narcissist's arsenal

Narcissists break rules all the time and get away with it. One reason they can is that the make enforcing rules against them so difficult. They loudly and rudely contest every single accusation, no matter how small, no matter how obvious to make the cost of enforcement very high. This makes it much harder to get a rid of a narcissist than an ordinary bad person. They are hoping, correctly, you'll conclude that the cost is too high. That's our real dilemma, is the high cost of impeaching a cornered rat really worth it, when you probably won't even catch the rat?

[bullwinkle428]

5. Someone on CNN the other day said that they had inside knowledge

that Nancy Pelosi would not even think about starting impeachment proceedings unless she's convinced there are 67 votes in the Senate willing to convict his toxic orange ass.

IOW, we had better be prepared to vote him out next year.

[bearsfootball516]

9. I think a lot of people here will be disappointed when it ultimately shakes out.

I've never expected him to be impeached. I've been working toward 2020 since day one.

[spanone]

6. chuck toad 'splainin' democrats is rich....I'd say REPUBLICANS have a problem on their hands.

Senate republicans will never convict trump.....all the more reason to impeach

[kentuck]

7. They have the half of the country that doesn't want to impeach...

Democrats' only choice seems to be to expose the crimes, one by one, until the other half recognizes right from wrong and are willing to vote to change? Or to impeach?

With the division in the country, the best we can hope for at this time is to continue to get to the bottom of all the criminal charges, and make them public, then try to get people out to vote to change the country in the next election.

Republicans have a choice: they can agree to look honestly at the charges against this Administration or they can continue to block oversight.

Or Mr Trump will be impeached one witness at a time until the entire population is educated.

That is up to them.

[OliverQ]

8. It's amazing to me that impeachment is in the Constitution for this very reason

yet everyone is too scared to use for political reasons.

[kentuck]

10. I think it assumes some sort of consensus?

And not just a simple majority?

Because without a consensus, the division is only amplified.

It requires that people see the facts as they are.