Really good points at Politico. The article looks at the long term impact of the Clinton impeachment, even though it “failed.” The mantras about “TDS,” “witch hunt,” and “usurping the 2016 election” play well to the crazy base, but nowhere else. The elections of last week revealed that there is, at present, no negative political consequences for the Democrats for impeaching – probably because the facts have trickled into the vast number of voters who do not rely on Fox and Breitbart for their news. Not that it matters, because the hearings are really about abuse of power, rule of law, and the threat of an ever-increasing power of the Presidency against the legislature. Republican Senators are claiming that they won’t watch the hearings (so they can dodge questions about the evidence in the future) and that will not play well with the center. The Republicans on the House committees are just making the same speech over and over again, because they cannot engage the subject matter of the inquiry – the minute they do that they lose the frame of all future political discourse.
Trump has put them into this position, and I’m certain they privately hate his guts. But because of the crazy base, it’s pretty much when Trump says jump they ask how far.
But they will have to face voters next year, and the impacts on their legacy for years to come, especially if the institutions of checks and balances are damaged for the long term.
Here are some excerpts:
Based on Clinton’s precedent, those costs will be paid against Trump’s agenda—things he wants to do but won’t achieve because of the distorting effects of impeachment on his political options and room for maneuver.
They will be paid by his associates—people whose reputations and ambitions will be permanently dented because of their proximity to him.
And they will be paid by conservatives who follow him—who will discover their own principles have lost credibility and power in the public mind because of their connection to Trump.
Understanding the real costs paid by a president during an impeachment battle requires engaging in some what-if scenarios. But these scenarios do not require lots of conjecture or long, speculative leaps.
…..
And they will be paid by conservatives who follow him—who will discover their own principles have lost credibility and power in the public mind because of their connection to Trump.
Understanding the real costs paid by a president during an impeachment battle requires engaging in some what-if scenarios. But these scenarios do not require lots of conjecture or long, speculative leaps.
…..
Lastly, most Republicans do not face a high cost within their own party for defending Trump. But, in a country becoming younger and more diverse, there’s little chance even these internal GOP politics remain static. The isolationists of the 1930s had the popular position at the time, but had considerable explaining to do for years after. So did the McCarthy backers of the 1950s. So did the civil rights opponents of the 1960s.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri is 39. Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas is 42. There is every reason to suppose they and other ascendant Republicans will be answering “what did you do in the Trump years?” for decades to come.
As one who covered the Clinton impeachment, I can testify that 21 years is not so long ago as it seems. The smoke from those days passed quickly—the stench lasted far longer.
32 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 13, 2019 at 12:58 pm
Julie Timmons
Meadows is so disgusting. Any exposure of him is to the GOPS’s detriment.
November 13, 2019 at 12:59 pm
Julie Timmons
Or is it Jordan? The coach.
November 13, 2019 at 1:17 pm
Eric Kirk
Here’s Jordan, being a nutcase again.
https://www.politico.com/video/2019/11/13/jordan-schiff-whistleblower-trump-impeachment-069076
November 13, 2019 at 3:15 pm
Eric Kirk
Nunes will be the subject of a lot of late night comedy tonight.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/13/1899142/-Devin-Nunes-embarrassing-performance-is-going-viral-on-Twitter?detail=emaildksc
November 13, 2019 at 3:21 pm
Eric Kirk
And Jim Jordan really ought to be going back to covering up sexual assault at Ohio State.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/13/1899191/-Twitter-has-a-field-day-with-Jim-Jordan-s-craven-behavior-at-impeachment-hearing
November 13, 2019 at 5:03 pm
W.o.P.
You could be the subject of some late afternoon comedy !
November 13, 2019 at 5:19 pm
Dave Kirby
The other bunch who may go down the drain with the combover kid are the “evangelicals” who will have to ‘splain why Christians would support a serial adulterer and compulsive liar.
November 13, 2019 at 5:55 pm
Anonymous
Dave Kirby…I don’t recall the party suffering when they had to “splain” their continued support for Edward Kennedy after he killed Mary Jo. As for the Evangelicals, I suppose they, like Kennedy, will have to jump that bridge when they come to it.
November 13, 2019 at 8:57 pm
Rusty
Oh god so Pathetic. Jordon and Nunes we’re on point and you know it. This shit show is by far and away more of a joke then Muller.
Give up, go practice law, you like the Democrats are wasting your and our Country’s time. Peace out.
November 14, 2019 at 6:37 am
Rusty
What will it cost Democrats? Can’t wait for the Senate trial.
From 2001 to 2005 there was an ongoing investigation into the
Clinton Foundation.
A Grand Jury had been impaneled.
Governments from around the world had donated to the “Charity.”
Yet, from 2001 to 2003 none of those “Donations” to the
Clinton Foundation were ever declared.
Hmmm, now you would think that an honest investigator would
be able to figure this out.
Guess who took over this investigation in 2002?
None other than James Comey.
Guess who was transferred in to the Internal Revenue Service
to run the Tax Exemption Branch of the IRS?
Your friend and mine, Lois “Be on The Look Out” (BOLO) Lerner.
It gets better, well not really, but this is all just a
series of strange coincidences, right?
Guess who ran the Tax Division inside the Department of
Injustice from 2001 to 2005?
No other than the Assistant Attorney General of the United
States, Rod Rosenstein.
Guess who was the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation during this time frame?
I know, it’s a miracle, just a coincidence, just an anomaly
in statistics and chances, but it was Robert Mueller.
What do all four casting characters have in common?
They all were briefed and/or were front line investigators
into the Clinton Foundation Investigation.
Now that’s just a coincidence, right?
Ok, lets chalk the last one up to mere chance.
Let’s fast forward to 2009…..
James Comey leaves the Justice Department to go and cash-in
at Lockheed Martin.
Hillary Clinton is running the State Department, on her own
personal email server, by the way.
The Uranium One “issue” comes to the attention of Hillary.
Like all good public servants do. You know – looking out for
America’s best interests. She decides to support the decision and
approve the sale of 20% of all of the US’s Uranium to no other than —
the Russians.
Now, you might think that this was a fairly straight-up deal,
except that it wasn’t: The American People got absolutely nothing out
of it.
And they’re investigating president Trump for “collusion?”
However, prior to the sales approval, no other than Bill
Clinton traveled to Moscow, got paid $500K for a one hour speech, and
then met with Vladimir Putin at his home for a few hours.
Ok, no big deal right?
Well, not so fast: the FBI had a mole inside the money
laundering and bribery scheme.
Guess who was the FBI Director during this time?
Yep, Robert Mueller, who even delivered a Uranium Sample to
Moscow in 2009.
Guess who was handling that case within the Justice
Department out of the US Attorney’s Office in Maryland?
None other than, Rod Rosenstein.
Guess what happened to the informant?
The Department of Justice placed a GAG order on him and
threatened to lock him up if he spoke out about it.
How does 20% of the most strategic asset of the United States
of America end up in Russian hands when the FBI has an informant, a
mole, providing inside information to the FBI on the criminal
enterprise?
Guess what happened soon after the sale was approved?
About 145 million dollars in “donations” made their way into
the Clinton Foundation from entities directly connected to the Uranium
One deal.
Now guess who was still at the Internal Revenue Service
working the Charitable Division? None other than, Lois Lerner.
Ok, that’s all just another series of coincidences. Nothing
to see here, right?
Let’s fast forward to 2015.
Due to a series of tragic events in Benghazi, and after the 9
“investigations”, the House, Senate and at State Department, Trey
Gowdy who was running the 10th investigation as Chairman of the Select
Committee on Benghazi discovers that The Hillary ran the State
Department on an unclassified, unauthorized, outlaw personal email
server.
He also discovered that none of those emails had been turned
over when she departed her “Public Service” as Secretary of State
which was required by law
He also discovered that there was Top Secret information
contained within her personally archived email. (Let’s not forget – at
least 10 CIA spies in China were killed by the Chinese because of the
leaks, and God knows what else occurred.)
Sparing you the State Departments cover up, the nostrums they
floated, the delay tactics that were employed and the outright lies
that were spewed forth from the necks of the Kerry State Department,
we shall leave it with this…… they did everything humanly possible to
cover for Hillary.
Now this is amazing: guess who became FBI Director in 2013?
Hint: he secured 17 no-bid contracts for his employer
(Lockheed Martin) with the State Department and was rewarded with a
six million dollar thank you present when he departed Lockheed.
None other than James Comey.
Amazing how all those no-bids just went right through at State, huh?
So he’s the FBI Director in charge of the “Clinton Email
Investigation” after, of course, his FBI Investigates the Lois Lerner
“Matter” at the Internal Revenue Service and exonerates her.
Nope…we couldn’t find any crimes there.
So what happened next?
In April 2016, James Comey drafts an exoneration letter of
Hillary Rodham Clinton — something he had no authority to do.
Meanwhile the DOJ is handing out immunity deals like candy.
They didn’t even convene a Grand Jury.
Like a lightning bolt of statistical impossibility, like a
miracle from God himself, like the true “Gangsta” that Comey is, he
steps out into the cameras of an awaiting press conference on July the
5th of 2016, and exonerates The Hillary from any wrongdoing.
Can you see the pattern?
It goes on and on. Rosenstein becomes Asst. Attorney General;
Comey gets fired based upon a letter by Rosenstein; Comey leaks
government information to the press; Mueller is assigned to the
Russian Investigation sham by Rosenstein to provide cover for decades
of malfeasance within the FBI and DOJ.
And the story continues.
FISA Abuse, political espionage…. pick a crime, any crime,
chances are…… this group and a few others did bringing new meaning to
the term “organized crime.”
All the same players.
All compromised and conflicted.
All working fervently to NOT go to jail themselves
All connected in one way or another to the Clintons.
They are like battery acid, they corrode and corrupt
everything they touch.
How many lives have the Clinton’s destroyed?
As of this writing, the Clinton Foundation, in its 20+ years
of operation of being the largest International Charity Fraud in the
history of mankind, has never been audited by the Internal Revenue
Service.
Let us not forget that Comey’s brother works for DLA Piper,
the law firm that does the Clinton Foundation’s taxes.
And the person that is the common denominator to all the
crimes above while doing her evil escape legal maneuvers at the top of
the 3 Letter USA Agencies? Yep, that would be Hillary R. Clinton!
Who is Lisa Barsoomian?
Let’s look a little into Mrs. Lisa H. Barsoomian’s background.
Lisa H. Barsoomian, a US Attorney who graduated from
Georgetown Law, is a protege of James Comey and Robert Mueller.
Barsoomian, with her boss, R. Craig Lawrence, represented
Bill Clinton in 1998.
Lawrence also represented:
Robert Mueller three times;
James Comey five times;
Barack Obama 45 times;
Kathleen Sebelius 56 times;
Bill Clinton 40 times; and
Hillary Clinton 17 times.
Between 1998 and 2017, Barsoomian herself represented the FBI
at least five times.
You may be saying to yourself, OK, who cares? Who cares about
the work history of this Barsoomian woman?
Apparently someone does, because someone out there cares so
much that they’ve “purged” all Barsoomian court documents for her
Clinton representation in Hamburg vs. Clinton in 1998 and its appeal
in 1999 from the DC District and Appeals Court dockets.
Someone out there cares so much that the internet has been
“purged” of all information pertaining to Barsoomian.
Historically, this indicates that the individual is a
protected CIA operative. Additionally, Lisa Barsoomian has specialized
in opposing Freedom of Information Act requests on behalf of the
intelligence community.
And, although Barsoomian has been involved in hundreds of
cases representing the DC Office of the US Attorney, her email address
is Lisa Barsoomian at NIH gov. The NIH stands for National Institutes
of Health.
This is a tactic routinely used by the CIA to protect an
operative by using another government organization to shield their
activities.
It’s a cover, so big deal, right? I mean what does one more
attorney with ties to the US intelligence community really matter?
It deals with Trump and his recent tariffs on Chinese steel
and aluminum imports, the border wall, DACA, everything coming out of
California, the Uni-party unrelenting opposition to President Trump,
the Clapper leaks, the Comey leaks, Attorney General Jeff Sessions
recusal and subsequent 14 month nap with occasional forays into the
marijuana legalization mix …. And last but not least Mueller’s
never-ending investigation into collusion between the Trump team and
the Russians.
Why does Barsoomian, CIA operative, merit any mention?
BECAUSE surprise, surprise… She is Assistant Attorney General
Rod Rosenstein’s WIFE!
And then there’s BIDEN………
That’s why!
November 14, 2019 at 7:23 am
Anonymous
LOL…
November 14, 2019 at 7:40 am
Guest (Mitch)
PA 7:23,
LOL. Thanks for offering the best response possible.
This is such a simple story.
Part 1:
A racist, mysogynistic, anti-immigrant liar and crook won the election in 2016. His campaign was helped by the Russians. He appears to believe the Ukrainians were involved. Because he is a crook, he then tried mobster tactics with the Ukrainians. Because he is a liar, he claims he did not.
Part 2:
Others in the government have some integrity. They saw the crime and reported it, or were given subpoenas and responded truthfully with what they knew. The most recent to do so came in fifth in his West Point class and then was placed, at his request, in the infantry in Vietnam. He has since become an Ambassador. The crook escaped service because his father bought a lie from his doctor.
Part 3:
The democrats in the house of representative will impeach the liar and crook for his criminal activity.
Part 4:
The senate will engage in something that is supposed to be a trial, with the case for prosecution managed by the House. No one knows what will happen, despite the crook being evidently guilty based on evidence that has been in the public record for weeks already.
The only shame in this story, besides that of trump and the gop and media allies like fox, is that much of the mainstream media continues to pretend to be objective by presenting the circus offered by the gop as if it were worthy of equal time and respect, fully knowing that it is nothing but bullshit. Somehow, they’ve been convinced that to actually report “this is bullshit” would be unfair.
November 14, 2019 at 7:43 am
Anonymous
LOL…Poor Rusty is so dimwitted and gullible that he doesn’t make any effort whatsoever to fact-check the cut-and-paste conspiracy nonsense he spews!
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lisa-barsoomian-rod-rosenstein/
Of course this is one of the wingnut conspiracy theories pushed by Roger Stone…no surprise there.
Now any normal, sane person with any kind of critical thinking skills would immediately recognize that rambling conspiracy theories peddled by a self-described “dirty trickster” like Roger Stone might warrant at least a little bit of skepticism and might merit at least some basic fact-checking…but not if you’re a Dimwitted Trump Cultist who will mindlessly gobble up and regurgitate whatever sewage the Cult is serving up that day.
November 14, 2019 at 7:51 am
Anonymous
Ironically, right at this very moment, a jury is deliberating in the felony trial of Roger Stone — whose only defense was that everyone knows he lies all the time and therefore no one should take him seriously.
November 14, 2019 at 8:09 am
Anonymous
I suspect that the Horowitz, Durham, and Barr investigations will clear up a number of outstanding questions.
November 14, 2019 at 8:48 am
W.o.P.
Mitch, your “simple story” is nothing but BS, spin, and propaganda. But you know that. Just as Schiff, Pelosi, and their leftie ilk know the hearing is all BS, misinformation, and lies.
November 14, 2019 at 8:48 am
Henchman Of Justice
Julie Timmons misspelled “Rachel Maddow”…meadow lurking media…
November 14, 2019 at 9:24 am
Guest (Mitch)
W.o.P.,
As soon as the material related to the “perfect” call was released, it was clear beyond any reasonable doubt that trump was extorting an ally for his own political purposes. It became more clear, if that was necessary, when it emerged that the document had been moved to an “abnormal” location.
There are plenty of things where I have my opinion and understand that others will differ. Abortion is a case in point — I understand that there are people out there who sincerely feel that there’s a soul sitting inside the teeny-weeny ball of cells in a woman’s uterus, and that they must protect that soul.
This isn’t like that, though; it’s just a clear set of facts that any objective observer of normal intelligence will accept, versus a bunch of desperate pols throwing shit out of the back of their pickup to slow down the cop cars chasing them. Jim Jordan is so very sad.
With that said, sometimes the crooks survive to steal more. That doesn’t mean they aren’t crooks.
November 14, 2019 at 11:36 am
W.o.P.
And just because you and a boatload of obsessed Dem’s hate Trump doesn’t mean everything he does is impeachable! What’s next, impeachment hearings for having two scoops of ice cream when others in the room only had one ?!
all the hate doesn’t make you right
November 14, 2019 at 12:18 pm
Guest (Mitch)
It’s far beyond any question of “hating trump.” It’s now as simple as whether the gop is willing to say that this and future presidents should face no consequences for extortion, because that is what a senate trial ending in anything other than conviction would mean.
November 14, 2019 at 12:35 pm
Guest (Mitch)
And I wish the gop senators understood that there will still be an opportunity for criminal prosecution following trump’s departure from office, assuming that happens. The public will have an interesting take on it, I think, if a jury convicts a former president on charges that the gop senators unanimously ignored.
November 14, 2019 at 1:20 pm
W.o.P.
” It’s far beyond any question of “hating trump.” ***** No it isn’t Mitch. You and yours hate Trump because you’ve been told to hate Trump !
You eat up the hate that comes from the far lefties, the Dem’s, political elites, and celebrities. You (and many others) want to be one of he the “cool kids”, the “woke”, or the “enlightened”. As smart as you may be you’re still just a follower.
November 14, 2019 at 1:52 pm
MOLA42
W.o.P.:
You really don’t know a thing about liberals and progressives, do you?
One thing that can’t be done is to tell a liberal how to think. It can’t be done. Liberals are famous (if not infamous) for being so single minded that they can only move off of a position if that individual is doing the moving strictly on their own.
As soon as you dictate what a liberal should think, you have lost all chances of making that person change their mind. I think it has something to do with developing critical thinking skills.
GOP’ers, on the other hand, are happy to take their walking orders and parrot the approved script. The past few weeks prove that. That and your “contributions” to this discussion.
I think we have a classic case of “projection” here…
November 14, 2019 at 2:09 pm
Guest (Mitch)
Remember how Pelosi didn’t want to impeach? There’s a reason she changed her mind, despite knowing that impeachment is unlikely (as of today) to lead to trump’s removal from office and will likely cause problems for the Democrats.
I think what changed her mind was her sense of responsibility and patriotism.
November 14, 2019 at 5:12 pm
W.o.P.
” I think what changed her mind was her sense of responsibility and patriotism.” ….. I disagree Mitch.
I don’t think responsibility and patriotism mean anything to Nancy Pelosi, or to Adam Schiff, or just about any Democrat. I don’t think she cares about anything but POWER. I could explain my reasoning but I’m pretty sure you don’t really care ….
Pelosi changed her mind because she’s losing control. Too much pressure from AOC and the extreme far left.
November 14, 2019 at 5:26 pm
MOLA42
W.o.P.:
” I could explain my reasoning but I’m pretty sure you don’t really care …. ”
Ah… That’s your excuse.
I thought it was because you have no powers of reason to begin with. Learn something new everyday.
November 14, 2019 at 5:29 pm
Guest (Mitch)
I’d be interested to hear you explain your reasoning. They both strike me as fine people.
November 14, 2019 at 6:06 pm
Anonymous
As usual, W.o.P. makes no attempt whatsoever to engage with the facts.
He doesn’t attempt refute or rebut them, or even really deny them. Just tries to hand-wave them away with meaningless, fact-free claims like “it’s all BS” and irrelevant opinions like “you all just hate Trump.”
It’s like watching a particularly spoiled-brat three year old throwing a bedtime tantrum — even though it’s dark out and the clock says what it says, he thinks if he whines loudly enough and stamps his feet hard enough and holds his breath long enough, somehow the grown-ups will give in and agree that it’s not dark out after all, it’s not his bedtime, and in fact it’s a great time for some candy.
November 15, 2019 at 8:29 am
Henchman Of Justice
Voyanovich… definitely not Driving Miss Daisy…
November 15, 2019 at 5:18 pm
Anonymous
LOL…Trump did promise to “Drain the Swamp,” but I’m guessing this isn’t quite what he had in mind…
Trump’s deputy campaign manager Rick Gates is scheduled to be sentenced on December 17th.
Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is scheduled to be sentenced on December 19th.
Trump’s longtime political adviser / self-described “dirty trickster” Roger Stone is scheduled to be sentenced on February 6th.
Lock them up! Lock Them Up! LOCK THEM UP!
November 16, 2019 at 10:18 am
Henchman Of Justice
PA, will agree on the swamp…funny how Trump blasts ’em, before maybe realizing he had to hire some of ’em because better citizens wanted nothing to do with DC politics…
Am surprised Trump has not simply maintained we don’t need this or that post filled…realizing less people involved is better, but he wants the power of the size now…could come back to bite his lilly white ass…
November 20, 2019 at 9:31 am
queenoftheforrest
The impeachment-promoting Press bores the public.
The 7 Stages of the Bolshevik Takeover of America, November 18
Forbidden Knowledge https://bit.ly/37k0mJT
“And to end it now, they have to first start with the President. Then, they have to do away with the Constitution and then, they have to do away with any Americans who still think this is a Constitutional Republic or desire a return to it.”