I'm glad the House is going on recess because a lot of work on impeachment will get done

[StarfishSaver]

Last edited Thu Sep 26, 2019, 06:59 PM - Edit history (4)

(I wrote this in response to a post in another thread, but decided to make it an OP to give more people this perspective)

And as a former Hill staffer I can tell you that a recess is definitely not a vacation, but is actually a perfect time for the impeachment committees to get real work done on impeachment.

When the House is in session, it's very difficult for the Members and their staffs to get a lot of substantive work done. They spend so much time preparing for votes, committee hearings, meetings, and other activities that take place when the House is in session, it's hard to even think straight, much less get a lot of grunt work like research, writing, and organizing done. So much their days are spent running from the office to the floor to the committee room back to the floor for a vote, being briefed on the fly about which amendment is attached to what vote and how they voted on something similar four years ago, back to a different committee hearing where they'll have five minutes to question the witness but aren't sure what time they'll get their turn so they might need to leave to run over to the Capitol steps for the picture with schoolkids visiting from the district and run back to the committee and hope they don't lose their turn and end up at the end of the line and back to the Capitol for late votes into the night. ... It's absolute madness when they're in session.

Everyone breathes a sigh of relief when the recess starts, because that means lots of other important work can get done.

I'm sure that the committee chairs, Members and staffs are going to be working their asses off during the recess doing what they need to do to move impeachment forward. I would actually be much harder to get this work done if they stay in session.

So please don't assume that recess means vacation or the fact that a recess is starting this weekend, that means the work on impeachment will be suspended or even reduced. Trust me - a lot of shish will get done in the next couple of weeks BECAUSE they'll be on recess.

[hlthe2b]

1. Are all six committees remaining at work, as the Intel committee is?

the perception is really bad, if not.

[StarfishSaver]

2. Yes. The work continues and the Members still work, even if they're in the District.

Committee work isn't limited to hearings. In fact, hearings are only a small part of what the committee Members and their staffs do.

[empedocles]

4. Staffers do a lot of work without interruptions. Easier for members to keep up and

actually have a good grip on the materials. [Not always optimum preparation, especially on lesser hearings].

Presence at high profile hearings takes up a lot of time.

[StarfishSaver]

14. Exactly

[saidsimplesimon]

3. I'm delighted by the pause.

Thanks for the heads up

[brooklynite]

5. Also a good time to get a read from from constituents and explain what's happening

[StarfishSaver]

15. Yes.

As I've said before (so, sorry if I'm repeating myself to you), a Member once told me that her constituents complained that she was out of touch because she wasn't in the district enough, but then, whenever they saw her there, they wanted to know why she wasn't in Washington working ...

[sheshe2]

6. Thank you for the insider information.

The Democratic Congress knows it's job and how critical it is today. Many lives are at stake and our Democracy is at stake. We need to bring an end to this pResidents crime spree.

[leftstreet]

7. But the headlines will say recess, voters will think vacation

...and how bad can things with Trump be if everyone's off to Disneyland

bad optics I think

[StarfishSaver]

9. I prefer bad optics and lots of real work getting done over looking good

without as much to show for it.

one thing that's really frustrating is that the media knows all of this, but still perpetuates the lie.

[leftstreet]

10. 2 wks with no public hearings? Trump will weasel out of this n/t

[StarfishSaver]

13. Hearings for hearings sake are a waste of time. But if hearings are necessary, they can be held,

during a recess.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

18. Yup. Can already hear the air coming out of balloon :(

[irisblue]

8. Thank you for the explanation. Learned something new

[cwydro]

11. Lol.

[Leghorn21]

12. Many thanks for this illuminating post, Star!!

Well done!!

[safeinOhio]

16. More time for Rudy and Donny

to keep talking.

[StarfishSaver]

17. And more time for individual Members to get lots of local press in their districts

which their constituents will pay more attention to than what Trump and Giuliani are babbling on cable television.

And the Members don't need to be in the House television or MSNBC studios to get airtime. They can easily do remotes from their districts.

[shockey80]

19. When a boxer has his opponent hurt on the ropes he does not take a recess.

He swings with everything he has and pounds his opponent into submission. If the boxer takes a recess it gives his opponent time to recover.

[StarfishSaver]

21. Except this isn't a boxing match

But it's hardly surprising that within 24 hours, some people started right back second guessing Speaker Pelosi, who controls the Congressional calendar and has decided not to cancel the recess.

If only she understood how best to proceed as well as the keyboard quarterbacks who just can't get enough of telling her how to do her job, no matter how often and how thoroughly she demonstrates she doesn't need their advice.

[shockey80]

22. It's a fight and right now they have Trump in trouble.

It is just my opinion, I do not think this is a good time to go on recess. I do not blindly follow any politician and there is nothing wrong with second guessing Pelosi. She is not always right, nobody is.

[StarfishSaver]

23. She may not always be right but she knows considerably more about all of this than you do

Last edited Thu Sep 26, 2019, 09:45 PM - Edit history (1)

so trusting her judgment on this more than that of people who don't have access to a fraction of the information she has and on which she's basing her decision, isn't blindly following her but is just plain common sense.

[empedocles]

26. The Dem advantages over trump are better strategy and preparation.

[Mr. Ected]

20. I did not know this

Thank you for rescuing me from ignorance.

[Takket]

24. the Dems have pushed in all their chips so definitely time for noses to the grindstone

[IndianaDave]

25. Thank You so much for helping us understand that the Recess is positive and productive.

Without your excellent input, a lot of us would have had a false impression of what this "break" actually meant. Great post!

Dave