All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[JCAll]

Thanks, that was excellent.

Glad you liked it. GCP Grey is generally one of the better Youtubers, even if he updates infrequently.

[Tami]

Agreed. Dems should focus on the issues and ONLY the issues. The impeachment talk is just the sort of red meat Trump has spent two years throwing to his lemmings every time he calls for Hillary Clinton to be investigated and locked up. Without an air tight, mortal lock case, Trump can skate free because Republicans won’t support impeachment like Bill Clinton did when Democrats looked the other way. In other words, it’s a nothingburger, hell, that talk might even get in the way of the Mueller investigation, so Dems should just cool it and focus on undoing Trump’s crapstorm.

Problem is, as long as he is in Office and the Republicans control the Senate, each storm the Democrats try to fix is only going to be followed by 2 more storms. It's like chasing a drop of water down a waterfall.

[Kirby101]

So if the various investigations show Trump is a felon, they shouldn't impeach?
The President should get a pass on being a criminal?

[JCAll]

So if the various investigations show Trump is a felon, they shouldn't impeach?
The President should get a pass on being a criminal?

Worse. The President IS going to get a pass on being a criminal, and it will set the precedent going forward that all crimes committed to obtain office are legal.

[Kirby101]

I just don't see how Congress ignores Trump commiting the same cimes as others who are going to Jail. And these were crimes he commited to get elected. Then there is his whole criminal corporate organization. Congress must investigate and impeach if all found verified. No matter what happens in the Senate.

A side note on public opinion, if any of those cooperating wore a wire with Trump, we would see a large rise in pro-impeachemnt

[Tami]

Donald Trump Jr Heads to Canada As He Reportedly Gets Ready For Upcoming “Bomb”

There might be a winter chill in the air, but President Trump and his family are sweating like it’s Phoenix in July. The White House, perpetually beset by chaos and inner turmoil, had been uncomfortably awaiting Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s document outlining how Paul Manafort violated his cooperation agreement by lying to prosecutors. But there’s an even greater sense of despair for Donald Trump Jr, who reportedly decided to sneak off to Canada for a little “hunting” while he remains hunted here in the United States.

Don Jr’s legal woes were the focus of a recent holiday gathering at the St. Regis in Washington to celebrate the engagement of former campaign staffer and CNN contributor David Urban. The attendees included Dina Powell, Ivanka Trump, Anthony Scaramucci, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Tony Sayegh, a Republican strategist whom Trump appointed assistant secretary of the Treasury.

[wjowski]

So if the various investigations show Trump is a felon, they shouldn't impeach?
The President should get a pass on being a criminal?

We should probably wait until Muelller's investigation is finished before saying such things.

[Gray Lensman]

So if the various investigations show Trump is a felon, they shouldn't impeach?
The President should get a pass on being a criminal?

The problem is that impeachment isn't a legal proceeding, but a political one. As long as the Republicans in the Senate believe that their fortunes are tied to supporting Trump, they will continue to do so.

Trump could be caught on film breaking into the National Archives, with footage of him taking a crap on the Constitution and wiping his backside with the Bill of Rights, and most of his supporters would cheer how he 'pwned teh libs.'

[Gray Lensman]

I know what Nancy Pelosi would say, that impeachment is a waste of time because we can't get enough Republican Senators to flip in order to get a conviction, but I say, impeach Trump anyway! Give the Republicans a taste of their own medicine for a change! And an impeachment hearing would be very entertaining on C-SPAN.

Actually, knowing that impeachment is almost certain to fail in the Senate - I think they should investigate all of Trump's department heads. That will avoid any conflicts with the Mueller investigation (and they can keep the option there in case Trump fires him) and will show the country that Trump drained the swamp directly into the cabinet rather than out of the government. Instead of trying to do the same thing, change course and make the oversight hearings an assault from a different front, but leading to the same goal. Trump no longer being president and his remaining time severely hamstrung.

[Tami]

Actually, knowing that impeachment is almost certain to fail in the Senate - I think they should investigate all of Trump's department heads. That will avoid any conflicts with the Mueller investigation (and they can keep the option there in case Trump fires him) and will show the country that Trump drained the swamp directly into the cabinet rather than out of the government. Instead of trying to do the same thing, change course and make the oversight hearings an assault from a different front, but leading to the same goal. Trump no longer being president and his remaining time severely hamstrung.

I think that's already on the to-do list.

[Kirby101]

We should probably wait until Muelller's investigation is finished before saying such things.

It's been confirmed he took part in campaign finace fraud and State Tax evasion.
I think it's time we say such things.

[Gray Lensman]

It's been confirmed he took part in campaign finace fraud and State Tax evasion.
I think it's time we say such things.

There is only one shot, and they need to overcome the Senate GoP's 'circle the wagons' mentality in order for it to land. As much as I want to see him gone, it isn't time to go for impeachment yet.

[Kirby101]

There is only one shot, and they need to overcome the Senate GoP's 'circle the wagons' mentality in order for it to land. As much as I want to see him gone, it isn't time to go for impeachment yet.

I agree, and I don't think the GOP Senate will impeach him if he shot someone on 5th Ave. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be talked about and it doesn't mean the House shouldn't impeach.
If he is shown to be as guilty as he obviously is. And shown to be guilty of things we don't even know yet. The GOP will have to answer in 2020 why they allowed him to skate.

[numberthirty]

So if the various investigations show Trump is a felon, they shouldn't impeach?
The President should get a pass on being a criminal?

We should probably wait until Muelller's investigation is finished before saying such things.

The problem is that impeachment isn't a legal proceeding, but a political one. As long as the Republicans in the Senate believe that their fortunes are tied to supporting Trump, they will continue to do so.

Trump could be caught on film breaking into the National Archives, with footage of him taking a crap on the Constitution and wiping his backside with the Bill of Rights, and most of his supporters would cheer how he 'pwned teh libs.'

It's been confirmed he took part in campaign finace fraud and State Tax evasion.
I think it's time we say such things.

If the reason you started an investigation was to prove Russian collusion that tipped the scales in the 2016 election, what do either of those things have to do with it?

I'm not really big on Impeachment unless there is a "Black And White" example of Russian collusion. Anything short of that will just give Republicans an "Out" in any potential impeachment.

As for the tax evasion, no one says he can't be held accountable later.

[worstblogever]

I agree, and I don't think the GOP Senate will impeach him if he shot someone on 5th Ave. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be talked about and it doesn't mean the House shouldn't impeach.
If he is shown to be as guilty as he obviously is. And shown to be guilty of things we don't even know yet. The GOP will have to answer in 2020 why they allowed him to skate.

That's the endgame. The GOP already made the choice of whether to get in bed with Trump, knowing full well how corrupt a creature he is.

Now they continue to make it harder to disassociate themselves from that corruption going forward, and not just in 2020. They may be tainted as the party that sold out this country to the Russians and Trump to try and get Supreme Court picks and win the culture wars they were losing, and are likely to lose anyway.