The right wing propaganda is being swallowed whole hog.

[Lint Head]

Reverse psychology is at play here. The GOP blow hards saying, go ahead. 'Start impeachment. That will just insure Trump wins in 2020.' The sad thing is that the GOP has fear mongering down to a science and some are now afraid to take that "i" word step. That is just what the GOP really wants. To stop impeachment talk and implementation using fear. Trump has been using the fear tactic for years.
They are using our fear of the orange tyrant to manipulate us.
I refuse to be manipulated.

[Nevermypresident]

1. The Mueller investigation rattled his cage. So we are to believe he doesn't care about

Impeachment proceedings?! Sure.

[blm]

2. Exactly. Same thing with Mueller testifying. They do NOT want him testifying because none of

The facts are exculpatory for Trump or anyone around him, including Nunes.

They want Dems to fear their shamelessness, which they have in abundance.

[pdsimdars]

3. AM Joy this AM had Elizabeth Holzman and Jill Wine-Banks as a couple of her guests.

They talked about impeachment and how this time compares with the others. Holzman said that they voted for articles BEFORE the smoking gun tape was out. She also said that people talked about those Democrats from the south and worried about their re-elections. NONE of them lost their seats.
Both she and Jill talked about the ACTUAL history and at the end Elizabeth said that those who are afraid of the politics of impeachment are either misremembering or they simply don't know the history. That was powerful from 2 ladies who were there at the time.

[YOHABLO]

4. Get the proceedings started, and get them live on the television. That will make the case.

[world wide wally]

5. To which I say, "Be careful what you wish for. You just may get it"

[Honeycombe8]

6. It seems like impeachment is over.

Judging from what I've read into things Pelosi has said and what others say Schiff said this morning on ABC.

Unless the Senate will also impeach (which we all know it won't), they're not going to impeach (which would be a paper impeachment, for historical purposes). Unless there is overpowering reason for it, enough to overcome their resistance to it.

So I'd say that's a big fat no on that.

[ancianita]

7. Because of all the other nations' interference, I can't even deal. We still need to impeach for

the sake of defending the Constitution, even if Trump and Russia weren't all the players.

Yes, put it all out there on TV and trust the electorate to do what's right in 2020.

Our numbers of right thinking voters is our only hope now.

[Honeycombe8]

12. I think voters are more uninformed now than ever before.

They thought the Mueller Report absolved Trump. Why? I guess because they heard Barr say it (he had a press conference).

Now they have heard that Mueller did find "something." Why? Because they've heard that on tv.

Their knowledge is confined to 1/2 hour of nightly news, if that. The issues we have here are complex. They'll never grasp it, unless it can be boiled down to several sound bites. Pitiful, but that's what we're dealing with.

That's not everyone, of course. But it's the majority, I think.

[ancianita]

14. Unread, uninformed citizen sink democrsacy. Russia's plan for the West is succeeding.

[Honeycombe8]

18. We did that ourselves, with our education system.

Education isn't valued here, and excellence in school isn't pushed by many parents.

[ancianita]

20. The institutional downward spiral has been at state levels without people realizing it.

We pay property and state taxes. We don't decide how they're spent. They're not spent on us or our children without a fight. And so the formula went for over a generation. Across fifty state education systems, curricula, unions and communities trusting, being betrayed, one "reform" at a time.

Defund -- 70's
Deform/reform -- 80's
Stigmatize -- 90's
Privatize -- 00's

I saw it, talked, wrote, fought it my entire teaching career.

We would never do this to ourselves. Trust in leadership is the default.

There is no "we." Those who betrayed and bad faith negotiated have names. It's not the public or its children.

[Honeycombe8]

21. We did this to ourselves, piece by piece. Vote by vote.

Every vote for a Republican (who wants to privatize all education).

Every parent who ever got home after work and didn't have a round table discussion w/the kids about their homework and grades and futures, and look at the homework themselves.

Every one who voted for someone who diverted public education funding to a "charter" school...and then didn't understand it took money away from his own child's school.

It's "we," the voters. That's who voted for the programs and defunding, through their collective votes. It IS the public. WE did this (not ME, in particular, since I never voted for anyone who allowed this, and never had kids to ignore), but we the people did this.

Children are teased for using good grammar. The way I hear some kids talk...there's been a general dumbing down of Americans. It's not that they speak a certain way to sound cool, but they know grammar. It's that they don't even know it.

There are other reasons besides voting. But I won't get into those, since people would probably disagree, and in the end it doesn't matter.

[ancianita]

22. Creeping unconcious voting for lying, sellout candidates have been the undoing of this country.

The liars are still the reason, in my book.

[EffieBlack]

24. I don't know

People have more information available to them but I don't now if that makes them more informed. If they don't know how to digest, discern and assess the information they're getting, it can actually be worse than not having it in the first place.

Didn't a recent study show that FOX viewers were less informed than people who didn't watch news at all?

[Turin_C3PO]

30. Yes.

Fox News viewers were more uninformed (or more likely misinformed) than people who watched no news at all.

[infinite_wisdom]

8. They are making a huge mistake

The fact that the Senate won't impeach is not the point.

The D's are going to be seen as weak and unwilling to fight. If the tables were turned, the R's would impeach despite their chances in the Senate or what the polls say. They would just do it and it would solidify and fire up their base.

But the D's won't do it and by doing so they reduce their chances of beating Trump in 2020.

[Honeycombe8]

11. I agree.

Seeming weak is a big deal. It's why McConnell didn't hold a confirmation hearing for Garland. He knew the Democrats wouldn't do anything besides grumble and say "not fair." He has now said that he would confirm a S.Sct. nominee, if it came up in 2020, an election year. He knows he can do that without fear of Democrats getting in the way.

[redstateblues]

26. I disagree. The fire to dump Trump does not hinge on impeachment.

[meow2u3]

28. The Senate letting Trump off the hook is beside the point

Impeach Trump anyhow. That will put a black mark on his so-called presidency, much like impeachment tarnished the reputation of Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson before him. Even if the Senate doesn't remove him from office because of the GOP Cult of Personality, Democrats can use his impeachment as a cudgel to bring down Trump at the polls.

The only reason House Democrats aren't ready to impeach him now is that they're gathering evidence of the myriad crimes of the Trump regime.

[Duppers]

9. K & R

[BlueIdaho]

10. The GOP and Trump aren't playing 3 dimensional chess...

We need to stop thinking they are. Fatso is random and capricious and his fawning sycophants are clueless. We need to stop reacting and start acting in the best interest of America and Americans.

[NoMoreRepugs]

13. I think Speaker Pelosi has an excellent grasp of the situation.

Faux and Reichwing radio have never been more powerful, the Senate never more partisan and the Supreme Court never so party before country. The call for articles of Impeachment to start needs a higher percentage of the American public backing it to be a positive for Democratic candidates going forward.... at least in my humble and admittedly biased opinion.

[DallasNE]

16. Democrats Could Stay Home

If the Democrats are too cowardly. But with the economy losing steam an untimely recession could jolt public opinion. A lot of moving parts to consider.

[DallasNE]

15. Let's See What

The Judge in the case of the Manfort/Russian Ambassador phone calls has to say. I would expect that to come no later than Tuesday. That should wipe the smugness off of a few faces. Those conversations took place before Trump was sworn in so it is hard to see their argument holds water.

[Alwaysna]

17. Every time Nancy baits or goads trump he says or does

Something he didn't mean to say. I believe she is playing cat and mouse with him to knock him off balance and get under his skin. In the mean time, more of the public will be turning on him as the effects of tariffs hit the fan.

[DemocracyMouse]

19. What works: Build the impeachment and they will come.

You don't piddle around and wait for Mommy or Daddy pollster to tell you it's time to impeach. You certainly don't wait for Republicans.

THIS is what you do:

You impress the nation with your deep thinking and integrity, begin the impeachment process, and that gnawing sense that the Democrats have been right all along explodes into focus.

Build it and they will come.

Be leaders.

[ancianita]

23. EXACTLY. Doing what's right and bringing the public to witness is what leadership IS.

[EffieBlack]

25. "Build" being the operative word

Ray didn't just one morning throw some bases around his cornfield and expect baseball player ghosts to show up. He took his time, plowed the cornfield, planted grass, and made a regulation baseball field - and the whole time he was doing it, everyone but his wife thought he was nuts.

[redstateblues]

27. So voters will stop hating Trump because Pelosi is smart enough not to play into Trump's hands.

Trump beating impeachment will make Democrats look weak

[EffieBlack]

31. Makes no sense, does it?

[KPN]

29. We do seem to be operating on the basis of fear right now. Some prefer to call it caution. There

is merit to that. But it's impossible for me to believe that we shouldn't just do what is right. I believe we will ultimately pay a greater price by doing that: heeding fear instead of what is right.

Let's at least initiate a formal impeachment inquiry and stop beating around the bush trying to navigate with nuance what ultimately will be unavoidable pitfalls. The pitfalls are many and varied. Some will no doubt exist regardless of which way we move forward. Let's do what is right and avoid the long-term pitfalls that come with the perceived inaction of trying to thread the political needle.