Mega-Thread: Impeachment Proceedings & Inquiry of Trump

[mvaliz]

Even if Trump is removed (Which is still a massive long shot, but the odds are better then they were yesterday), the goalposts will shift to being some sort of democrat coup. There won't be a civil war or anything, they will just bitch about it endlessly on the internet. Thankfully they aren't very good at translating their threats to any sort of actual, well, threat.

That is what happens when you get your voters off of 4chan...

To misquote a Classic-Series Doctor Who Quote:

You sound very much like a person named Marie Antoinette. We've just experienced a series of mass shootings inspired by Dumbass Donnie's racist fearmongering, with many many more being arrested each week for planning other mass-murders, and you say we have no problems?

I remember us discussing this in the past, and I said it in 2016, and I'll say it again - while it will not be a Civil War, expect a very black footnote in American history with a series of week-long mass shootings from Trump supporters claiming "Patriotism" or "Protectin' my family" or "Protectin' my God" as the excuses to murder anything they identify as "liberal". Because their drug is about to be taken from them, the drug that validates all their fears, hate and rage - and they know they'll never get that again...

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snip

Rarely do I ever embrace something Nancy Pelosi says - but today she said a quote that rang unbelievably true that wraps up Dump's appeal in a nutshell over all the others you quoted:

"Trump is attempting to turn Lawlessness into a Virtue".

That, right there, is why so many Americans stand by him. He gives them validation for being an asshat. The more the Asshat you are, the more virtuous and "real" you are, the more you shun the "Big gubbimin'", the more of a Moral Superman you are.

...it's fucking disgusting. >_<

[PACOX]

One day there needs a be a discussion on the tactics of the Democrats. How many impeachable offenses has Trump committed at this point with the excuse always being, 'well its going to fail'.

The GOP does not give a damn how the Dems will 'feel' about their little investigations, how they will be perceived, whether they will be successful - and thats for the baseless shit the GOP puts out.

Meanwhile, the DNC slow walks legit grievances because 'we might lose'. Its stupid and annoying when you're trying to be the party with a little bit of integrity.

[Wyrt]

Fox news is now saying the Whistleblower was biased against Trump.

They're forgetting about the Inspector General. And, you know, the fact Trump already said he did it.

[SirBeef]

Do some research please.

Look, trump talks a great game to the LGBTQ community and has cut rights, shit all over them, and made things worse. Pence would be pretty much the same other than wanting pray away the gay camps. Neither are good but with Dems holding the house no laws will be passed. Anything done has been done through EOs and agency directions. All things that can and will be reversed if Dems get out and vote his ass out.

[Breccia]

Fox news is now saying the Whistleblower was biased against Trump.

They're forgetting about the Inspector General. And, you know, the fact Trump already said he did it.

Trump would never have said he did it, if the whistleblower hadn't brought it to the ICIG.

No, really, regardless of his "how stupid would I have to be to say something when I know people are listening?" he probably didn't want anyone listening. That's the point. Also, Giuliani/Madrid.

[Wyrt]

Look, trump talks a great game to the LGBTQ community and has cut rights, shit all over them, and made things worse. Pence would be pretty much the same other than wanting pray away the gay camps. Neither are good but with Dems holding the house no laws will be passed. Anything done has been done through EOs and agency directions. All things that can and will be reversed if Dems get out and vote his ass out.

Pence would be a lame duck and anything he did would be undone after the 2020 election since there's no way Republicans would win if Trump got removed from office.

[mvaliz]

Fox news is now saying the Whistleblower was biased against Trump.

...that's like claiming DEA Agents are biased against Meth workers/peddlers. Its... kinda their job. =/

[Breccia]

Pence would be a lame duck and anything he did would be undone after the 2020 election

With one important exception: a Pence Pardon can't be undone.

[SirBeef]

Pence would be a lame duck and anything he did would be undone after the 2020 election since there's no way Republicans would win if Trump got removed from office.

But that's the thing, he won't. He'll get impeached, he won't be removed.

[mvaliz]

With one important exception: a Pence Pardon can't be undone.

A 2nd exception is that there's a chance Pence will be choosing who goes into RBG's Supreme Court seat.

It mean's we're not getting another college frat-boy, but rather a seriously hardline evangelical if RBG goes. >_<

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Yeah, the hypothetical is based on the supposition that he’ll resign.

That made me snicker IRL. :P

Yeah, Dump "resigning" - that's not going to happen. That man is going to go out gunz-blazing (and, by that, I mean ranting on Twitter) before he admits any "resignation". Even if he did accept one, he'll start lying about it the very next day - and call it a Democratic Plot to oust him, and it was the Fake-News media that made up the idea he resigned.

[Thepersona]

Fox news is now saying the Whistleblower was biased against Trump.

They're forgetting about the Inspector General. And, you know, the fact Trump already said he did it.

Ya know, it's kinda refreshing to know that even fox news can't spin this one properly. They cannot say its pheik niuws because dear leader already admitted to it.
They're fucked, and they know it.

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With one important exception: a Pence Pardon can't be undone.

Remember, state crimes cannot be pardoned. And I can feel the NY state attorney giggling with malice about their opportunity to pin down Dotard Tang

[Breccia]

I just caught Giuliani on the Ingraham Angle(thanks Mike Birbiglia for the heads up) and it was truly something special. Dude was really losing it.

Could be worse. Could be Hannity. He's going with "this makes the country less safe" and "this is driven by Trump rage".

Doesn't say Trump is innocent so much...

But, yeah, FOX News is in a real bind. They can't really comment on the facts of the case, because
1) Trump has admitted nearly everything
2) Trump has intentionally concealed the rest.

Of course, they have to contend with other media outlets reporting, you know, facts and shit. Like, listen to this clearly Fake News librul elite witch hunter:

Trump has admitted committing crime in talks with Ukraine

Judge Andrew Napolitano told Fox News host Shepard Smith on Tuesday that ...

...okay...didn't see that coming.

on Tuesday that the president effectively confessed to a crime when he admitted he asked Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

Napolitano, a Fox News senior judicial analyst, had framed President Trump's earlier statement as an admission that he tried to "solicit aid for his campaign from a foreign government."

“So that to which the president has admitted is in and of itself a crime,” Smith followed. Napolitano responded, "yes," and claimed it was the same crime former Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigated as part of the long-running Russia investigation.

Huh. Same crime as Mueller. Interesting.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Rarely do I ever embrace something Nancy Pelosi says - but today she said a quote that rang unbelievably true that wraps up Dump's appeal in a nutshell over all the others you quoted:

"Trump is attempting to turn Lawlessness into a Virtue".

That, right there, is why so many Americans stand by him. He gives them validation for being an asshat. The more the Asshat you are, the more virtuous and "real" you are, the more you shun the "Big gubbimin'", the more of a Moral Superman you are.

...it's fucking disgusting. >_<

Yeah I agree and this process has pissed me off, looking at it as a political perspective rather than the perspective of someone who blatantly is breaking the fucking law. It shouldn't matter if it's popular or not.

I would rather be unpopular and do the right thing, than be popular and allow this bullshit.

[Breccia]

Trump's clearly tuned in to his favorite channel for the ego stroking.

Ah, yes, he tweeted a video clip of FOX News with the tagline Deep State Media "Evidence" quotes FOX not mine.

[eschatological]

I would rather be unpopular and do the right thing, than be popular and allow this bullshit.

The problem is that this loses Democrats elections. HRC was infinitely more prepared, more qualified, had more solutions, and so on, and so forth, than the popular, charismatic Trump. Dubya was elected on the "I'd rather have a beer with that dude" factor more than anything. Clinton had the charisma to back the policies, which no one really cared about, and how he beat an actual incumbent President, something that almost never happens. Dukakis had better policies than Bush but Bush beat him with almost anti-charismatic stuff - Willie Horton and vague speeches about a thousand points of light. And Reagan was somehow everyone's wet dream in this country even though he literally fucked it sideways every opportunity he got.

And to be fair, we skated by on "Yes, we can" for the previous 8 years.

The point is - the American electorate is fucking dumb as rocks. They rarely make the correct decision, and when they do, it's because they've made the more charismatic decision. And that's been true since the first televised debates between Kennedy and Nixon in '60. When liberals have managed to produce a left-leaning candidate with the charisma - we've won, because the policies are icing on the cake. Now, we basically have to beat a highly popular President among his base (80+% of Republlicans approve of Trump) with potentially wonky (Warren), kooky (Bernie), or safe (Biden) candidates.


So yes, I appreciate my side doing the right thing. But you can't forget the political calculus of it all. I don't think impeachment was hurt by delaying it til now. No one can (reasonably) say "Hey, you didn't impeach him earlier for these things, why should they count now?" Of course, Trump will probably unreasonably say that, but that's ridiculous on its face. The goal is to be popular FOR doing the right thing. And in this climate, that's difficult.

[Somewhatconcerned]

The problem is that this loses Democrats elections. HRC was infinitely more prepared, more qualified, had more solutions, and so on, and so forth, than the popular, charismatic Trump. Dubya was elected on the "I'd rather have a beer with that dude" factor more than anything. Clinton had the charisma to back the policies, which no one really cared about, and how he beat an actual incumbent President, something that almost never happens. Dukakis had better policies than Bush but Bush beat him with almost anti-charismatic stuff - Willie Horton and vague speeches about a thousand points of light. And Reagan was somehow everyone's wet dream in this country even though he literally fucked it sideways every opportunity he got.

And to be fair, we skated by on "Yes, we can" for the previous 8 years.

The point is - the American electorate is fucking dumb as rocks. They rarely make the correct decision, and when they do, it's because they've made the more charismatic decision. And that's been true since the first televised debates between Kennedy and Nixon in '60. When liberals have managed to produce a left-leaning candidate with the charisma - we've won, because the policies are icing on the cake. Now, we basically have to beat a highly popular President among his base (80+% of Republlicans approve of Trump) with potentially wonky (Warren), kooky (Bernie), or safe (Biden) candidates.


So yes, I appreciate my side doing the right thing. But you can't forget the political calculus of it all. I don't think impeachment was hurt by delaying it til now. No one can (reasonably) say "Hey, you didn't impeach him earlier for these things, why should they count now?" Of course, Trump will probably unreasonably say that, but that's ridiculous on its face. The goal is to be popular FOR doing the right thing. And in this climate, that's difficult.

Does it matter that Trump is popular with Republicans? Isn't that always the case with the incumbent?

[Zaydin]

Does it matter that Trump is popular with Republicans? Isn't that always the case with the incumbent?

I mean, Republicans were defending Nixon right up until he was forced to hand over the tapes and that proved he was involved with the coverup of Watergate. That was when Barry Goldwater lead a group of Republicans to the White House and told him that the House was going to impeach him and the votes were there in the Senate to convict him.

[mvaliz]

I'm still worried we're missing something here...

...because the Dumbass Dump I know would've lambasted the Senate for being "Disloyal" by this point via Twitstorm, or at least claim the Senate was being mislead by some "Fake News" bullshit response. Basically the same as how he raged the few times when FOX news airs a piece he doesn't like about him.

So far as I know, Dump has been completely quiet about the Republican Senate's decision. When Dump is quiet, that's when I begin to really worry... >_<

[Somewhatconcerned]

I'm still worried we're missing something here...

...because the Dumbass Dump I know would've lambasted the Senate for being "Disloyal" by this point via Twitstorm, or at least claim the Senate was being mislead by some "Fake News" bullshit response. Basically the same as how he raged the few times when FOX news airs a piece he doesn't like about him.

So far as I know, Dump has been completely quiet about the Republican Senate's decision. When Dump is quiet, that's when I begin to really worry... >_<

Yeah, like why are they suddenly being so forthcoming with the transcript AND whistleblower complaint?

[mvaliz]

Yeah, like why are they suddenly being so forthcoming with the transcript AND whistleblower complaint?

While I agree with @cubby that maybe they're just covering their ass... this still worries me, particularly since the Senate republicans were UNANIMOUS! >_< It's more believable if even ONE of them said no... the idea of turning on Dump, at this late stage... it just feels like we're totally missing a tactic/move here.

And given Dump's clearly showing NO anger towards the Senate Republicans for this?? And apparently is forthcoming about this whatever "transcript"? And so fast?