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FM
Former Member

Nancy Pelosi just identified the biggest risk for Democrats on impeachment

 

(CNN)In a Friday interview with Bloomberg, Speaker Nancy Pelosi perfectly diagnosed the biggest danger for Democrats posed by the ongoing impeachment inquiry.

"There is -- I should say -- a mountain of concerns to be brought up," Pelosi said. But she went on to add that there is a danger of overwhelming the public with charges and details.
"When does the law of diminished returns set in?" Pelosi, of California, asked rhetorically.

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That second part of Pelosi's quote is absolutely key when it comes to understanding how much political peril lurks in the ongoing impeachment investigation for Democrats. Put simply, that risk is this: The longer the inquiry goes on and the more strands, people and charges are brought into the conversation, the harder it is for people to follow and understand. And the less people understand about the process -- and why Democrats believe it to be necessary -- the better for President Donald Trump.
 
Consider this: For months and months, polling showed that a majority of the public opposed impeaching Trump even while, in those very same polls, Trump's job approval rating hovered at or near 40%. People didn't think Trump was doing a good job and didn't want him removed from office.
That polling dynamic changed in the wake of the revelation of the whistleblower complaint regarding the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Suddenly a majority of the country favored Trump's impeachment and even removal.
  • <form action="https://bulletin.cnn.io/4.0/lists/a4165679e3/members/" class="js-cmcs-subscription-form cmcs-nightcap cmcs-embedded" novalidate="novalidate">
    While Democratic elected leaders were heartened by that change, it should also serve as a warning sign as to the fickleness of the public on the issue. In a CNN poll conducted late last month, 50% said Trump should be impeached and removed from office while 43% said he should not. While that represents a real change from a few months ago, it's not as though impeachment is favored by a wide swath of the public. Lose even a little momentum in the eyes of the public, and you'll soon see data that shows more people prefer keeping Trump in office.
    And the surest way to lose that momentum in public perception is to allow the investigation to become an all-encompassing grievance vehicle for Democrats against Trump.
    All the proof you need of how these sorts of investigations can explode in a million directions -- and to the detriment of the investigators -- is Ken Starr and the Starr Report in the mid-to-late 1990s. Starr was initially appointed independent counsel to continue the investigation of the Clintons' real estate dealings in Arkansas, known collectively as Whitewater.
    By the time Starr was done, he had looked into, among other things, rumors of foul play in the death of Vince Foster and Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern. House Republicans' decision to impeach Clinton over his relationship with a White House intern grew out of Starr's investigation, and led to massive defeats at the ballot box in 1998 as Democrats rallied around Clinton -- and against Starr who was effectively portrayed as an out-of-control partisan looking to bring down the former President any way he could.
    Sound familiar? Trump is already casting the House investigation as a "witch hunt" driven by Democrats who can't beat him at the polls and so are trying to end-run the electorate by impeaching him. Given that, the burden on Democrats to KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) when it comes to a) what is being alleged b) what is being investigated and c) eventually, why is Trump being impeached is massive.
    What these hearings can't be, Pelosi knows, is a grab-bag of grievance -- Russia! Ukraine! Nepotism! Giuliani! -- from her caucus. Which, as Pelosi knows, loathes Trump and wants him removed from office like yesterday.
    The further Democrats get from this basic fact set -- Trump called the Ukrainian President, reminded him that the US does a lot for Ukraine and then asked for him to investigate the Bidens -- the more they risk losing public support for their impeachment efforts.
    Pelosi knows it. But can she keep her caucus in line?
    </form>

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Prashad posted:

Trump will not be impeached and he will win a second term. Prashad predicts.

I do not trust the media. I remember how the beat the drums of war in 2003.  I was living in Switzerland, they would split screen the US and European interpretations of the same information!   It was diametrically different!  So I, and many others, don’t believe them, they create reality!

Nancy P’s big problem right now is the Republican wall is holding.  The transcripts have been released and Partisanship rules the day!  The economy is strong, the stock market is at a record high, unemployment is at a 50 year low!

You can say what you want, how do you separate the President from these data points?

If this continues and he clinched a deal with NK and open talks with Iran, it becomes a tough sell!

The risks for the Democrats increase daily!  And now Pocahontas takes the lead!

Trump is like Jason from Friday the 13th!

FM
ABaseman posted:
Prashad posted:

Trump will not be impeached and he will win a second term. Prashad predicts.

I do not trust the media. I remember how the beat the drums of war in 2003.  I was living in Switzerland, they would split screen the US and European interpretations of the same information!   It was diametrically different!  So I, and many others, don’t believe them, they create reality!

Nancy P’s big problem right now is the Republican wall is holding.  The transcripts have been released and Partisanship rules the day!  The economy is strong, the stock market is at a record high, unemployment is at a 50 year low!

You can say what you want, how do you separate the President from these data points?

If this continues and he clinched a deal with NK and open talks with Iran, it becomes a tough sell!

The risks for the Democrats increase daily!  And now Pocahontas takes the lead!

Trump is like Jason from Friday the 13th!

the idea that you see the republicans as a wall and not as individuals speaks volumes. Power trumps independent thinking. 

The economy is staggering along at a 1.9 growth despite a sugar high amounting to trillions of dollars to the rich one percent. There is no include coincident wage increase and the bottom rung of the economic ladder is working two jobs to meet basic needs. Nothing is being done in transitioning us away from a carbon producing economy to a green economy that would spur manufacturing growth in depressed sectors. Ruining our planet by releasing the regulations on release of poisons into it etc is not spurring growth. Demanding the feds lower interest rate to feed growth is not the key. It is already below a point where there is any hedge to a recession an one is pending. The common man is not seeing money in his pocket on the erratic behavior of wall street.

I do not know where you think the NK are going to make any deal. They have no incentive to deal making. Iran is also a losing proposition. Farmers are never going to win back their Chinese market ( not that I ever like china) Poor negotiation skills have left us with no deals. The MCA deal is NAFTA lite and improves nothing.

Indeed  he is like Jason, a mindless, amoral, death dealer. The ethnic cleansing he unleashed against the Kurds is going to leave a mark in history.

And there  you are speaking of Pocahontas in the same mindless ignorant way as that troglodyte. She was kidnapped, raped and otherwise abused by her captors. She is not the Disney character we come to know. Using her to gain leverage against Mrs  Warren is just his usual racist trope. He cannot match her in wits. She is far superior to him in every area of human virtues. 

 

FM
Last edited by Former Member
Stormborn posted:
ABaseman posted:
Prashad posted:

Trump will not be impeached and he will win a second term. Prashad predicts.

I do not trust the media. I remember how the beat the drums of war in 2003.  I was living in Switzerland, they would split screen the US and European interpretations of the same information!   It was diametrically different!  So I, and many others, don’t believe them, they create reality!

Nancy P’s big problem right now is the Republican wall is holding.  The transcripts have been released and Partisanship rules the day!  The economy is strong, the stock market is at a record high, unemployment is at a 50 year low!

You can say what you want, how do you separate the President from these data points?

If this continues and he clinched a deal with NK and open talks with Iran, it becomes a tough sell!

The risks for the Democrats increase daily!  And now Pocahontas takes the lead!

Trump is like Jason from Friday the 13th!

the idea that you see the republicans as a wall and not as individuals speaks volumes. Power trumps independent thinking. 

The economy is staggering along at a 1.9 growth despite a sugar high amounting to trillions of dollars to the rich one percent. There is no include coincident wage increase and the bottom rung of the economic ladder is working two jobs to meet basic needs. Nothing is being done in transitioning us away from a carbon producing economy to a green economy that would spur manufacturing growth in depressed sectors. Ruining our planet by releasing the regulations on release of poisons into it etc is not spurring growth. Demanding the feds lower interest rate to feed growth is not the key. It is already below a point where there is any hedge to a recession an one is pending. The common man is not seeing money in his pocket on the erratic behavior of wall street.

I do not know where you think the NK are going to make any deal. They have no incentive to deal making. Iran is also a losing proposition. Farmers are never going to win back their Chinese market ( not that I ever like china) Poor negotiation skills have left us with no deals. The MCA deal is NAFTA lite and improves nothing.

Indeed  he is like Jason, a mindless, amoral, death dealer. The ethnic cleansing he unleashed against the Kurds is going to leave a mark in history.

And there  you are speaking of Pocahontas in the same mindless ignorant way as that troglodyte. She was kidnapped, raped and otherwise abused by her captors. She is not the Disney character we come to know. Using her to gain leverage against Mrs  Warren is just his usual racist trope. He cannot match her in wits. She is far superior to him in every area of human virtues. 

 

Well, what can I say!!  There you go!

FM

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