John Oliver is a national treasure. For 15 to 20 minutes every week, he deep-dives into a topic and treats it not just with humor but with thoughtfulness. Last night, he educated America on the subject of impeachment. It was public service of the highest order.
(Never mind that we can't believe people still don't understand that impeachment is not removal. Bill Clinton's impeachment wasn't that long ago, was it?)
Anyway, like Mr. Oliver, we cats go back and forth over whether the House should start impeaching Benedict Donald's fat ass. Generally, we've stuck to the idea of holding hearings without actually branding them as impeach-y. But Trumpsters have been defying subpoenas and refusing to submit documents. And pure autocrat that he is, Benedict Donald himself has crossed new lines in appalling and outrageous behavior. So we've struggled with impeachment and have occasionally found ourselves moving over into the yeah-let's-do-it territory.
Then we see stuff that makes us think again. Here are two examples.
First, from former Democratic Congressman Steve Israel:
"Nancy Pelosi has institutional responsibilities...she must reflect the progressive values and priorities of the Democratic Party. But she also has a responsibility to keep Democrats in the majority, so that they can fight effectively for those values and priorities. She’s got to win elections.
"An impeachment inquiry that results in Trump’s acquittal in the Senate may jeopardize the 31 Democrats in districts where Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016. If Democrats lose 18 seats in 2020, they return to the minority just in time for Republicans to try to use gerrymandering to keep them there for a decade. Many Democratic members from those districts tell me that public sentiment, particularly among vitally needed swing voters, is currently against impeachment...
"At this moment in time, impeaching Trump minus convicting Trump equals re-electing Trump...But 'this moment in time' does not mean 'all moments in time.' Pelosi...believes it’s possible to shape public sentiment."
Second, from a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll:
"The number of Americans who support the start of impeachment hearings is up 10 percentage points since May."
John Oliver was right to point out that Richard Nixon was at 67 percent in the polls just 18 months before he resigned. So let's all hang in with Nancy for awhile, shall we? We cats PURR.
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