Ostensibly, the Tom Steyer ad above is about impeachment. But to me it's about more than just about impeachment. It's about what Team Todd was referring to when they asked where the beef is, now that the House Democrats have been in office for 5 months. Let's get one thing clear-- McTurtle, a dedicated Stalinist, has already announced he will not allow any House-passed legislation to be debated or voted on in the Senate. And if America were lucky and McTurtle were to fall into a sewer tonight and drown, there would still be Señor Trumpanzee and his veto pen, like the one he used to prevent Congress from ending U.S. involvement-- unconstitutional involvement-- in the Yemen genocide.What the Democrats could be doing is passing awesome messaging bills that show the voters what would happen if, next year, the voters elect a transformative president instead of Trump and get rid of McTurtle and his GOP majority. Instead, a tired and no longer competent Nancy Pelosi/Steny Hoyer leadership team is passing a series of uninspiring proposals that do nothing for the public at all. The phony baloney ethics bill-- H.R.1-- is a joke that still allows a Congress that is dependent on legalistic bribery. Oh, and Pelosi got her much-cherished PayGo passed. How about passing a real way to get fair drug prices instead of something that's not really going to help anyone? People notice.This afternoon, Michigan Congressman Justin Amash, a Republican, let loose with a tweet storm that may or may not be a signal that he's running for president as a Libertarian. But whether he meant that or not, he made it clear right from the start that Trump should be impeached.#3 is something Pelosi ought to think about carefully. She's refusing to start impeachment hearings because of partisan calculations. That's disgrace. She should resign.After listening his 4 conclusions-- that Barr has deliberately misrepresented Mueller’s report, that Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct, that partisanship has eroded our system of checks and balances, and that few of his congressional colleagues have bothered to read the report-- Amash wrote that he is offering "these conclusions only after having read Mueller’s redacted report carefully and completely, having read or watched pertinent statements and testimony, and having discussed this matter with my staff, who thoroughly reviewed materials and provided me with further analysis."
• In comparing Barr’s principal conclusions, congressional testimony, and other statements to Mueller’s report, it is clear that Barr intended to mislead the public about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s analysis and findings.• Barr’s misrepresentations are significant but often subtle, frequently taking the form of sleight-of-hand qualifications or logical fallacies, which he hopes people will not notice.• Under our Constitution, the president “shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” While “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” is not defined, the context implies conduct that violates the public trust.• Contrary to Barr’s portrayal, Mueller’s report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment.• In fact, Mueller’s report identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence.• Impeachment, which is a special form of indictment, does not even require probable cause that a crime (e.g., obstruction of justice) has been committed; it simply requires a finding that an official has engaged in careless, abusive, corrupt, or otherwise dishonorable conduct.• While impeachment should be undertaken only in extraordinary circumstances, the risk we face in an environment of extreme partisanship is not that Congress will employ it as a remedy too often but rather that Congress will employ it so rarely that it cannot deter misconduct.• Our system of checks and balances relies on each branch’s jealously guarding its powers and upholding its duties under our Constitution. When loyalty to a political party or to an individual trumps loyalty to the Constitution, the Rule of Law-- the foundation of liberty-- crumbles.• We’ve witnessed members of Congress from both parties shift their views 180 degrees-- on the importance of character, on the principles of obstruction of justice-- depending on whether they’re discussing Bill Clinton or Donald Trump.• Few members of Congress even read Mueller’s report; their minds were made up based on partisan affiliation-- and it showed, with representatives and senators from both parties issuing definitive statements on the 448-page report’s conclusions within just hours of its release.• America’s institutions depend on officials to uphold both the rules and spirit of our constitutional system even when to do so is personally inconvenient or yields a politically unfavorable outcome. Our Constitution is brilliant and awesome; it deserves a government to match it.
Coup d'état by Nancy OhanianUPDATE: Trumpanzee v AmashLooks like someone told on Justin. Not much fire and brimstone from Satan so far:
