• Welcome to the new Internet Infidels Discussion Board, formerly Talk Freethought.

Pelosi: Impeachment Is Moving Forward

Twitter now has trending hashtags #TulsiGabbard and #TulsiCoward and #VotePresentLikeTulsi

I composed some tweets with the latter, like asking whether the US shall defend slavery or abolish it (before the Civil War).

Gabbard votes 'present' on impeaching Trump | TheHill
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Gabbard's "present" vote amounted to not taking a stand at all on impeaching Trump for his actions with regard to Ukraine.

"Today was a really important day. Whenever we have a vote, we should vote yes and we should vote no. And voting 'present' is a very tough position to be in. To not take a stand in a moment that is so consequential I think is quite difficult," Ocasio-Cortez said.
Click to expand...
She had voted yes to impeach.

"It's beyond anything that you can really understand," said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Some Democrats — including Rep. Ben McAdams (Utah), a freshman who represents a swing district — had also floated censure instead of impeachment, but those efforts went nowhere. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) dismissed the idea of censure earlier this year as "just a way out" and insufficient.

"If you're going to go, you've got to go. If the goods are there, you must impeach. And censure is nice, but it is not commensurate with the violations of the Constitution — should we decide that's the way to go," Pelosi said in June.
Click to expand...
TG had also proposed censure, but that proposal went nowhere.
 
 
AOC takes a swipe at Tulsi Gabbard's 'present' votes | Fox News
“Today was very consequential, and to not take a stand one way or another, on a day of such great consequence to this country, I think is quite difficult,” Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said after the votes. “We are sent here to lead.”

...
“Whenever we have a vote, we should vote ‘yes’ and we should vote ‘no,’” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Voting ‘present’ is a very tough position to be in. To not take a stand in a moment that is so consequential, I think it’s quite difficult.

She continued, “I'm sure she'll be answering [questions] and discussing her rationale in the days ahead.”
Click to expand...
She suggested that TG's votes could be a factor in the Democratic primaries. But TG is doing so badly in them that it may not make much difference. Her big issue is opposition to military adventures in distant parts of the world, and she does not seem very much interested in any others.
“That’s certainly something that voters will decide. I know a lot of Democrats and just a lot of Americans believe that this president must be held accountable,” the New York Democrat said.

Ocasio-Cortez spoke briefly to reporters outside the Capitol after the impeachment votes as she held her green voting cards she had just used to vote ‘yes’ on the two articles of impeachment against Trump.

The New York Democrat was greeted by well-wishers wanting photos Wednesday night, but she quickly had to bolt to an awaiting car when a couple of Trump supporters started screaming at her. The men in red caps briefly tussled with her supporters and yelled: “Shame on you, AOC,” and, “You are a traitor to this country!”
Click to expand...
 
lpetrich said:
Tulsi Gabbard Votes ‘Present’ on Impeachment Articles - The New York Times
On Wednesday, Ms. Gabbard explained her present votes by saying she could not in good conscience vote against impeachment “because I believe President Trump is guilty of wrongdoing.”

“I also could not in good conscience vote for impeachment because removal of a sitting president must not be the culmination of a partisan process, fueled by tribal animosities that have so gravely divided our country,” she said.
Click to expand...
She preferred to censure him.
The censure resolution, she said, “will send a strong message to this president and future presidents that their abuses of power will not go unchecked, while leaving the question of removing Trump from office to the voters to decide.”

Ms. Gabbard said that when she voted to support the impeachment inquiry nearly three months ago, she stated that for the process to maintain integrity, “it must not be a partisan endeavor.”

“Tragically, that’s what it has been,” she said.
Click to expand...
Does that make any sense?
Click to expand...

I don't think that it would make sense for the vast majority of Dems to go for censure in the House at the moment because they face a partisan opposition. If the vast majority can hold pressure of impeachment over the Republican Party's heads, then that can be used for leverage to eventually get some Republican Senators to cave to compromise with a censure. A censure would only require a simple majority, not the full 67 and so it seems right now that a full removal isn't feasible but a censure is. The value of a censure is that it would re-affirm the Congress as an important branch of govt, re-affirm the President is not a king, and set a warning on the record. So, if Twitler McCrazyPants tries to do this again after a censure the Dems can go after him again.
 
What’s censure to Trump, especially without Republican support? A stain on his character. That’s a joke. He would have it framed, display it at rallies, use it against Dems.

It’s a finger wag to Trump. Don’t do that again or we’ll tell you again, don’t do that again. Meanwhile Ghoulliani is still hard at it.
 
Tulsi Gabbard Releases Statement on Impeachment of President Trump | TULSI 2020
A house divided cannot stand. And today we are divided. Fragmentation and polarity are ripping our country apart. This breaks my heart, and breaks the hearts of all patriotic Americans, whether we are Democrats, Republicans, or Independents.

So today, I come before you to make a stand for the center, to appeal to all of you to bridge our differences and stand up for the American people.

My vote today is a vote for much needed reconciliation and hope that together we can heal our country. Let’s work side-by-side, seeking common ground, to usher in a bright future for the American people and our nation.
Click to expand...
So her big objection to impeachment is that the vote had split on party lines?

Trump impeachment: The 15 best lines from the House debate
Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.

"Doing nothing here is not an option. Looking away from these crimes against our country is not an option. This is about protecting the future of our nation and our democracy from corruption, abuse of power, criminal cover-ups and bribery."
Click to expand...
I haven't found any other reaction from her. Not even "We have impeached the motherfucker!"

The Republicans called the impeachment effort such things as "a coup" and "fraudulent".
Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga.

"When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president in this process."
Click to expand...

Omar reportedly shouts 'Stop it!' as GOP's McCarthy recounts Tlaib's profane comment about Trump impeachment | Fox News
“In January, where we all stood in this body. We stood up. We raised our hands. We swore that we’d uphold the Constitution,” McCarthy continued. “And, a few mere hours after that, Congresswoman Tlaib said she was going to impeach the mother-f-er. Those are not my words.”

Omar also commented on Twitter on Wednesday about the impeachment.

“The evidence is clear," she wrote online. "Trump extorted a foreign government in an effort to get reelected -- and obstructed Congress’ resulting investigation. He abused his oath of office. Today, I will act to restore balance to our democracy. I will vote to impeach Donald Trump.”
Click to expand...
 
TV and credit cards said:
What’s censure to Trump, especially without Republican support? A stain on his character. That’s a joke. He would have it framed, display it at rallies, use it against Dems.

It’s a finger wag to Trump. Don’t do that again or we’ll tell you again, don’t do that again. Meanwhile Ghoulliani is still hard at it.
Click to expand...

If removal from office doesn't happen, a censure is better than nothing. As someone who would be in favor of universal healthcare, I'd also say the Affordable Care Act was better than what was there before the Affordable Care Act, even if I know it's flawed and not good enough. Likewise, it might be the case--and time will tell--whether Senators will change their tune and make removal from office a feasible thing or not. Just at the moment, it seems not, but because Pelosi can hold the articles for some time to act as leverage for more evidence, we have to see what can happen. So, again, censure is not nothing. It's something Democrats can hold up, not merely el Presidente, and they can hold it up at the next election to say, "look, even Republicans agree the President was a bad guy" or if he continues to his behavior like you are saying, Democrats can point that out, even if they never followed up with another impeachment, though they ought to.

Now of course I don't support Tulsi Gabbard, but she's trying to either protect herself or perhaps open up an option to run in the general election. That's how it appears to me--she's acting selfishly and not honorably. She is predicting behind the scenes, like I did (see the other thread), that this will end in a censure and so she will have a consistent appearance of moderateness when all is said and done.
 
Don2 (Don1 Revised) said:
If removal from office doesn't happen, a censure is better than nothing.
Click to expand...

I think it'd be worse. It'd just underline Democrat's impotence in the current balance of power.

I'd rather see them move on to something like, say, not passing a budget until McConnell puts at least 100 bills from his inbox to his out box.
 
Putin Criticizes Democrats for Impeaching Trump - WSJ
Speaking at a wide-ranging end-of-year news conference, Mr. Putin described Wednesday’s events in Congress as “the continuation of political infighting” between Democrats and Republicans. “I don’t think Trump will be voted out of power on made up charges,” Mr. Putin said. “Democrats lost the last election, and now they want to win by other means.”
Click to expand...
He seems like some Trumpie.
 
Keith&Co. said:
Don2 (Don1 Revised) said:
If removal from office doesn't happen, a censure is better than nothing.
Click to expand...

I think it'd be worse. It'd just underline Democrat's impotence in the current balance of power.

I'd rather see them move on to something like, say, not passing a budget until McConnell puts at least 100 bills from his inbox to his out box.
Click to expand...
Censure is worthless (impeachment has already been stamped on Trump) and still won't happen, because not enough Republicans in the Senate could be wrangled together to admit Trump did anything wrong at all, forget something wrong enough that warranted censure.
 
I think the Nancy has something else up her sleeve by delaying sending the articles to the Senate. :sneaky:

I can only hope she is getting dirt on Moscow Mitch.
 
"Lazy" Pelosi is very skilled and plays things out pretty far. She doesn't just react. We'll see where she (and Schumer) are going with this.
 
Patooka said:
Half-Life said:
One of these days Keith, one of your guys will hold the office of President and when Republicans move to impeach him, I don't want to hear one single lefty shouting, "Witch hunt!"
Click to expand...

Said with a complete lack of awareness or irony. I'm impressed that someone can be so delusional.
Click to expand...

Would you be less impressed if you realized that he is just a trolling liar? It's the simplest explanation.
 
Please tell me he can be seen with 1's in his pocket when Devin Nunez is projecting about how others wanted to see nude pictures of Trump.
 
People are delusional if they think this is going to end any other way rather than a partisan vote for acquitting Trump in the Senate.

Now, I don't have this reflexive hate for Nancy Pelosi like a lot of other progressives, I think she didn't want impeachment, and her hand was forced. However, I do not understand her current strategy. The Democrats have a lot to lose and little to gain here.

It will come down to who's base gets more riled up by all of this, and I think Trump will be much more effective at motivating his supporters based on this whole thing.

It would be best for her to just send the impeachment articles to the Senate and for the whole thing to be over with.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom