Adam Schiff gave Democrats a necklace with an albatross charm. And now Democrats walk The Hill bent over from the weight of the impeachment hearing flop.
During a recent interview on CNN, a WaPo reporter explained that prior to the impeachment hearings, the question was “Can Pelosi peel off any Republicans?”
In what likely surprised Democrats, Republicans all voted against the farce, and two Democrats joined. In the aftermath, the WaPo analyst said the new question facing Pelosi in advance of the next vote is, “Does she lose more Democrats?”.
She then went on to explain that moderates are getting cold feet. And that Democrats fear being punished. Not by Trump, but by their constituents.
And if you think things couldn’t get any worse, Democrats had a member of the Congressional Black Caucus defect.
Over the summer, Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence fully backed the move to impeach President Trump. However, Lawrence said over the weekend that she has since changed her mind.
“I feel we should begin that process,” Lawrence told CNN on June 12. “If we impeach him, he is still sitting in the White House because the Senate must act.”
“Our democracy is bigger than Donald Trump, and we need to act,” added the congresswoman, who since 2015 has represented Michigan’s 14th District, which includes eastern Detroit.
However, today Lawrence said she sees things differently.
“You can censure, you don’t have to remove the president,” Lawrence said Sunday on No BS News Hour with Charlie LeDuff. “Sitting here, knowing how divided this country is, I don’t see the value of kicking him out of office, but I do see the value of putting down a marker saying his behavior is not acceptable.”
Lawrence’s change of heart is as subtle as the overtures of Pepe Le Pew.
My guess is something is in the wind in DC. Democrats are leaving the blast zone for sure. Is this based on the imminent IG report from Michael Horowitz? Or perhaps the report due by John Durham? I suspect the actions are related to both.
Watch the news cycle over the next few weeks. I commented on my radio show that Democrats would be foolish to call a House vote on impeachment.
If they lose any more Democrats, that will mean a “loss”. I don’t think Schiff or Pelosi will want to run that risk.
Next, if they do vote, the Senate takes over. Schiff and Pelosi would lose power, and Republicans would have the ability to call witnesses Schiff avoided like the plague. And there were very good reasons Schiff skipped actual witness, as a Senate hearing would quickly showcase.
Where are we now?
Democrats have delayed sending impeachment to the Senate so long, the shelf-life expired. In fact, Pelosi fears sending impeachment to the Senate. She seems to hope the whole idea of the farce will somehow go away. Like Americans might just forget about it.
They won’t.
Ilhan Omar said that President Trump used the bombing of General Qassam Soleimani as a distraction. But it’s Democrats, specifically Pelosi who needs the distraction. Besides the impeachment crow dinner Schiff and team served up, Democrats know that John Durham will soon drop an anvil on their heads. They will need all the distractions they can get.
Democrats begin 2020 with a back ache and a serious neck ache. And it comes from the impeachment albatross necklace their leaders put around their necks. One can only laugh at the self-inflicted pain-in-the-neck fellow Democrats have become to their party.
