General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJust Between Us, We Know The Truth. The Purpose Of The Impeachment Isn't To Get Rid Of Trump.
Unless the Russians completely steal the election for him, Trump is going down HARD in the 2020 election. Nevermind what the polls say right now about swing States. The day before election day, even die-hard Republicans will be thinking about staying home on election day, simply because they can't the idea of having that bloated banana slug shouting over the helicopter rotors every day for the next four solid years.
No, the purpose of the impeachment is to put all of the dirt, slime, and criminal activity of the Trump Administration on full display in the Senate, and then have every Republican Senator GO ON RECORD as saying that behaviour is perfectly okay. And then have to defend their vote during the election.
Hence, the fact that the impeachment won't actually remove Trump is irrelevant. That's not the purpose.
WhiteTara
(29,706 posts)Joinfortmill
(14,417 posts)WhiteTara
(29,706 posts)Welcome to DU! These are perilous times and it's good to have more friends.
dchill
(38,485 posts)ritapria
(1,812 posts)Not a single GOP Senator will vote to convict Trump ..But the Stench of Impeachment will stain Trump forever more ...And that is a good thing ..His Senate enablers will share in his disgrace in 2020 - and far beyond ...
erronis
(15,241 posts)as long as Americans can hold a memory of such venality and corruption.
(Apparently not long enough - witness Reagan, Bushes, dump.)
What is the attraction of the (r) to people who think lying, cheating, stealing is perfectly natural? (Just a rhetorical question.)
Progressive Jones
(6,011 posts)There will be no running from this.
I, for one, will never stop speaking negatively about Trump and the GOP until the day I die.
I suspect many others will do the same.
The Trump Tragedy will be in history textbooks.
Mopar151
(9,983 posts)EveHammond13
(2,855 posts)LastLiberal in PalmSprings
(12,585 posts)mopinko
(70,097 posts)it will destroy him at any rate, the only question is when.
patphil
(6,172 posts)CaptainTruth
(6,589 posts)Impeachment needs to be about doing as much damage as possible to the Republican party. We owe that to our country.
Scarsdale
(9,426 posts)need any help in that area? Seems to me they are doing more damage to their "party" than we ever could. Defending the indefensible tRump is a totally losing proposition. He is a disaster. As long as he keeps tweeting and talking over the helicopter, we are golden!!
bitterross
(4,066 posts)Reporting as of late is the Democrats want to impeach by Christmas. While that would be a nice Christmas present to the world (not just the US), delaying the impeachment until 2020 would be more impactful for the election. Of course, there is a need to avoid impeachment burn-out too. That's a fine line the Democrats are going to have to worry about. How long to drag this out to keep it in people's minds for November 2020 vs. not burning them out on the whole thing.
EndlessWire
(6,526 posts)I believe we were at the point where Pelosi wasn't planning to impeach. And then, the Ukraine scandal came out, and she had no choice but to start impeachment proceedings. She said as much on late night television.
It is absolutely appalling what he is doing while he is "president." What he did in Syria is shocking. Notice how all the news on Iran is quiet now? He's too busy fighting off impeachment to move his assets around--assets that belong to We The People, not King Trump.
At least we'll have it on record as to what he did. With Turtleman planning to acquit him no matter what, it's hard to imagine that any Repubs will vote to throw him out. There is really something wrong with all of them.
The attention of the public is about a week and a half. It's hard to say about the timing, other than to wonder why they are telling him what to expect. They are bending over backwards to be fair, even though the impeachment process belongs to the House, and even though they have Repubs in there as well.
There is something to be said for our standing in the world and what we would like the rest of the Nations to know. Impeaching this bozo at least says that we never intended this outcome. But, because the Articles of Impeachment are written in the House, but acted on in the Senate, and we don't hold the Senate, he will likely get off and then go completely off the rails. We will be telling him that he is a King and can do anything he wants.
We need to dominate the Congress in order to thwart him, if he wins. Let's all plan to make our stand, however tiny it may be, and try to save our Democracy.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)We would have had Trump out in the first half year IF the Republican senate and house hadn't abandoned all commitment to the oaths they took and weren't actively betraying our nation.
EndlessWire
(6,526 posts)Hotler
(11,421 posts)He'll get voted out. No one will loan him money anymore and hopefully he ends up living on the street in a cardboard box.
The best case scenario would be if we could put him in prison.
Rorey
(8,445 posts)Or at least Ivanka and DonJr.
lastlib
(23,224 posts)PLEASE, God, take Jared down with his Filthy FIL!
bdamomma
(63,848 posts)documented in B&W. Those who support this POS will never be forgotten for their treachery.
Poiuyt
(18,123 posts)Only a small fraction. But I'm okay with that. Whatever works best so that history will show that he was impeached. I want future scholars to know that he wasn't just a bad president, but the most corrupt president in US history.
totodeinhere
(13,058 posts)They don't care and they will vote for him anyway. And any Republican senator who dares to vote to convict Trump will be primaried.
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)And Democrats can throw it in their face for years to come.
lastlib
(23,224 posts)...moral *DEGENERATES*! --Who found tRump's conduct acceptable;
--Who did not CARE that he abandoned the US Constitution to a 21st-century paper shredder (Nod to the late Barbara Jordan here);
--Who were fine with his violation of the sanctity of our votes with his invitation to foreign actors to interfere with our elections;
--Who were okay with him reviving in our body politic the contamination of a fascist ideology that, in its most virulent forms caused the deaths of millions of people whose only crime was believing differently;
--Who were willing to accept his destruction of a world order and a system of alliances and treaties that had given peace to the world for over seventy years;
--Who were WILLING ACCOMPLICES and Co-CONSPIRATORS in subjugating our national interests to Vladimir Putin and Russia.
But your point is still valid--these things can be acid in the GOPee faces for at least a decade. Perhaps in that time we can cleanse our body-politic of their infestation.
KPN
(15,643 posts)else would harm us more than help us in 2020. Impeachment lets the government of, by and for people control the media like tRump tries to do daily, but for the people.
Pepsidog
(6,254 posts)oldsoftie
(12,533 posts)but they also wont vote for the Democrat.
EndlessWire
(6,526 posts)They are still voting along party lines, if the only reason they won't vote for a Dem is because s(h)e is a Dem. Their preordained candidate is a criminal. At least they recognize that.
I'm a registered Independent. I'll be voting Democrat in 2020. Any one of the candidates will be better than the dictator tRump. We can't afford to have Donnie Two Scoops win. If he does, kiss our democracy goodbye.
They need to suck up the distaste and keep their eyes on the prize: getting rid of Trump et al. Diluting the vote will not work. Staying home will not work. We have to turn out and vote Blue, every last one of us. That includes ex-Republicans who want Trump gone, current Republicans who want Trump gone, and any other minority party members who want Trump gone.
We may not even make it to the election. After the election, he may declare it invalid, citing voter fraud. Be that as it may, our duty is to turn out and vote him out of office. And then we'll see what we have.
oldsoftie
(12,533 posts)Look at the number of black voters that didnt vote in 16 compared to 12 & 08. Like it or not, Hillary was not a well liked candidate. Neither was trump. So ambivalence skewered the election.
I sure dont see ambivalence on the democratic side THIS time!!
wnylib
(21,447 posts)of a secret "just between us."
Impeachment is the right thing to do with a president who violates the constitution as badly and frequently as Don the don does. Period.
What the Senators do is up to them. If there is fallout to them for standing by him no matter what, that will be a result of the choice they made.
Too many violations and sleezy actions for all the dirt to come out. His die hard followers will never change their minds.
Sometimes you just have to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. This is definitely one of those times.
WheelWalker
(8,955 posts)What the senators do, and what the electorate do, are secondary to the duty of the House.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)KY_EnviroGuy
(14,490 posts)Those are the purposes for me........
summer_in_TX
(2,738 posts)the impeachment process is completely necessary if we want to be able to fix all the areas that made it possible for someone to be elected and not get removed much earlier. Otherwise it would be next to impossible to enact all the major changes needed.
Here's my beginning list, in no particular order:
Enact a requirement that presidential candidates may not be on the ballot unless they reveal their tax returns for a minimum of x years prior to running.
Ensure that family members may not play any role (voluntary or otherwise) in the administration that requires a security clearance
No potential candidate who has been repeatedly sued for failure to pay for work done may run
Amend the Constitution to ban Citizens United. Political donations to individuals and PACs (if allowed at all) must show the names of all donors
Media fixes bust up monopolies, and forbid cross ownership including ISPs; license renewals should be lowered to no more than 5 years; equal time provision to respond when maligned; news networks could have no more than two hours of opinion programming and that would have to be clearly labeled as such; news networks or stations would affirmatively be required to ensure what they broadcast or stream is truthful to the best of their good faith ability (May take a blue-ribbon commission's study and recommendation to convince the libertarian types.)
Establish a way to fund public media and investigative journalism that is not tied to Congressional appropriations or control.
Recognizing propaganda and other media literacy skills would be mandated at all grade levels beginning no later than third grade, with an emphasis on developing students proficient in fact-checking information
OnDoutside
(19,956 posts)Impeachment was going to happen because it is the right thing to do. The reality is that Trump had continually thwarted Democrats efforts to get documents and witnesses. They need to realize that even the whistleblower's complaint would not have broken this open, it was the singularly catastrophic mistake by Trump to release the summary of the transcript, that gave Democrats the evidence for an impeachment. It is the reason Pelosi agreed to go ahead with this.
Had they not got this breakthrough, Trump would probably have escaped impeachment before the 2020 election.
uponit7771
(90,335 posts)... pre-election so ..>WHEN<... he steals the next election it will be easier for the house not to certify his election.
I don't see what else we have.
Rstrstx
(1,399 posts)Don't know what it is yet, they could get lazy and just try it again or could be something new. That thing stank to high heaven, from its mysterious oranges (as Trump would say) to the hyper coverage - there was hardly anything else Fox could cover for weeks.
And remember how the Soros Soros Soros memes kept coming on FB? Yeah it's going to be nauseatingly louder next year, whether it's a caravan or some other manufactured crisis. Putin likely figured out it's much easier to meddle in the US when he can do it outside the US. The Ukraine extortion scheme might have worked if Trump hadn't gotten involved in it, but of course he hid so it turned into a fiasco (BTW quit calling it quid-pro-quo!!! His base doesn't know Latin).
Whatever it is it'll be sure to drum up Republican enthusiasm about the election, thus it should be fear-based in nature.
For the life of me I don't understand why we're pushing through this impeachment at record speed, the hearings have had the effect of slowing down the sensationalism type stories pushed by the White Fox (Al-Baghdadi!). I certainly hope it's not so a few senators running for the presidency don't have to be burdened by taking time off the campaign trail to sit at a trial. The only semi-valid reason I can think of is that it might give Trump enough time to self-impeach all over again, but we'll have already played that card and I don't know how well it would work a second time.
If the House just took a look around you can see there is already enough corruption to cover decades' worth of hearings, let's not rush this (look at what Republicans were able to do with just Benghazi).
Ferrets are Cool
(21,106 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)We cannot sit and watch this shameless criminal destroy our democracy and our institutions without taking action. We have to fight back in the best way that is available to us under the circumstances. We need to show that we are the party who upholds and defends the constitution and the rule of law in this nation. That we will not let wanton crime and corruption go on in the executive branch without resistance.
dlk
(11,561 posts)Nancy Pelosi, in her wisdom, has repeatedly stated this impeachment is about the Constitution. Without this process, our republic would be lost, given Trumps and the GOPs many crimes. His removal from office is long overdue.
The impeachment also will shine a very public light on the widespread Republican corruption. Where each end every Republican Senator and representative stands will be on the record for the world to see. It will be a millstone around their necks in upcoming elections, proof they are unfit to govern under any circumstances.
PatSeg
(47,421 posts)Interesting days ahead, quite unlike anything we've ever seen before I would think.
Midnight Writer
(21,753 posts)efhmc
(14,725 posts)soldierant
(6,857 posts)There can be many purposes, some of which will be accomplished, and some not, and some won't make any difference at all.