Speaker Nancy Pelosi Yuri Gripas / Reuters Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, is convinced that beginning an impeachment inquiry of Donald Trump will be divisive, fruitless (because Senate Republicans will oppose it), and may backfire and increase Trump’s support among voters. No one knows whether an inquiry will lead to a vote to impeach by the House of Representatives. But each of Pelosi’s concerns about an impeachment can be refuted.
Slightly over half of all Americans oppose impeaching Trump. On its face, it seems that Pelosi is right to consider impeachment as divisive. But 19 percent of Americans initially believed Nixon should be impeached and rose to 70 percent over a year. The public’s opinion changed as they became more aware of what Nixon had done in the White House.
Even if the House impeached Trump, it is unlikely that twenty Republican Senators would vote with the Democratic Senators to remove his office. But Pelosi is wrong to conclude that removal from office is the only benefit of an impeachment inquiry. The process of an impeachment inquiry would make Trump’s crimes and corruption known to the public. An impeachment inquiry could provide the Democratic base with the energy to defeat Trump in 2020.
Pelosi also believes that Trump, like former President Bill Clinton, could see the public rally to his side because they view an impeachment inquiry as an unfair political tactic. But Bill Clinton had high approval ratings before the impeachment. More importantly, the House impeached Clinton for perjury arising out of a sexual liaison, although the Senate failed to convict him. The behavior underlying an impeachment inquiry of Trump includes, at least, conspiracy with the Russian government to undermine an American election and Pelosi and other moderate Democrats don’t seem to understand that an impeachment inquiry could help turn public opinion against Trump and the Republicans. And public opinion, in turn, drives turn out and the vote for the President and the Senate in 2020. But Pelosi refuses to play the public opinion game even when conducting committee investigations. The House committees don’t seem to be planning prime time hearings. The committees are not using staff attorneys to conduct interrogations of witnesses. And the Democratic committees are not calling witnesses who are willing to testify.
Pelosi’s underlying justification for refusing to start an impeachment inquiry is that it would not be good politics. Presumably, she believes that adhering to the Constitution is bad politics. But ignoring what an impeachment inquiry could teach the public is neither political nor wise. Pelosi is failing to plan for Trump’s reaction to her failure to launch an impeachment inquiry.
Trump, with the help of his Attorney General, William Barr, is investigating what Democrats supposedly did to undermine his administration. This investigation includes the actions of the Department of Justice, FBI, and intelligence community. The results will undoubtedly show that the Democrats conducted the conspiracy and obstruction of justice at the heart of the Trump administration. These allegations are lies. But that’s how Trump and the Republicans roll.
Slightly over half of all Americans oppose impeaching Trump. On its face, it seems that Pelosi is right to consider impeachment as divisive. But 19 percent of Americans initially believed Nixon should be impeached and rose to 70 percent over a year. The public’s opinion changed as they became more aware of what Nixon had done in the White House.
Even if the House impeached Trump, it is unlikely that twenty Republican Senators would vote with the Democratic Senators to remove his office. But Pelosi is wrong to conclude that removal from office is the only benefit of an impeachment inquiry. The process of an impeachment inquiry would make Trump’s crimes and corruption known to the public. An impeachment inquiry could provide the Democratic base with the energy to defeat Trump in 2020.
Pelosi also believes that Trump, like former President Bill Clinton, could see the public rally to his side because they view an impeachment inquiry as an unfair political tactic. But Bill Clinton had high approval ratings before the impeachment. More importantly, the House impeached Clinton for perjury arising out of a sexual liaison, although the Senate failed to convict him. The behavior underlying an impeachment inquiry of Trump includes, at least, conspiracy with the Russian government to undermine an American election and Pelosi and other moderate Democrats don’t seem to understand that an impeachment inquiry could help turn public opinion against Trump and the Republicans. And public opinion, in turn, drives turn out and the vote for the President and the Senate in 2020. But Pelosi refuses to play the public opinion game even when conducting committee investigations. The House committees don’t seem to be planning prime time hearings. The committees are not using staff attorneys to conduct interrogations of witnesses. And the Democratic committees are not calling witnesses who are willing to testify.
Pelosi’s underlying justification for refusing to start an impeachment inquiry is that it would not be good politics. Presumably, she believes that adhering to the Constitution is bad politics. But ignoring what an impeachment inquiry could teach the public is neither political nor wise. Pelosi is failing to plan for Trump’s reaction to her failure to launch an impeachment inquiry.
Trump, with the help of his Attorney General, William Barr, is investigating what Democrats supposedly did to undermine his administration. This investigation includes the actions of the Department of Justice, FBI, and intelligence community. The results will undoubtedly show that the Democrats conducted the conspiracy and obstruction of justice at the heart of the Trump administration. These allegations are lies. But that’s how Trump and the Republicans roll.
