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Déjà Vu: House Democrats Impeach Donald Trump
On a mostly party-line vote, the House of Representatives has impeached President Donald Trump for the second time. The final tally was 232-197 with all voting Democrats and 10 Republicans supporting the measure. This makes Trump the first US president to be impeached twice.
The following 10 GOP representatives voted to impeach:
- House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (WY)
- Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (OH)
- Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA)
- Rep. John Katko (NY)
- Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL)
- Rep. Peter Meijer (MI)
- Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA)
- Rep. Tom Rice (SC)
- Rep. Fred Upton (MI)
- Rep. David Valadao (CA)
The previous impeachment, held just over a year ago, passed 228-197. At that time, all Republicans and two Democrats voted against.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he will not call the upper chamber into session until Joe Biden is inaugurated president. If Pelosi actually delivers the article of impeachment to the Senate, that body can still vote to convict even though Trump will be napping at Mar-a-Lago. If every Democratic Senator votes “yea,” 17 Republicans will need to join them to deliver the required two-thirds majority.
Published in General
So much for Cheney and Rice.
I hope they enjoy the applause of the Dems today. It will be sad watching them all follow Paul Ryan down the same lonely path into the void.
I’m very ignorant about these things. If I understand correctly, it now goes to trial in the Senate. If the Senate votes not to impeach, does that mean that legally Trump could run for President again ?
I’m less mad was impeached and more mad he’s the ONLY one to have been impeached twice.
If we were serious about holding Presidents to their oath of office, impeachments would be routine.
We’re not a very serious people anymore though.
I hope they are all primaried successfully . . .
I’m pretty sure that you’ll get your wish going forward. The biggest roadblock is votes in the House, so I’d assume that anytime we have a party division between the President and the House, impeachment is a possibility. The Dems have opened Pandora’s box.
Do you know anything about Rice?
Good possibility.
There’s two ways to approach impeachment. One is to punish the president for not upholding his Oath of Office and/or breaking the law. Honest members of both parties should be able to get together on that. It should be relatively uncontroversial. That’s the approach I envision.
The other approach is purely as a political weapon.
Impeachment may become more routine like you say, but odds are it’ll be the second way.
Yes.
From the 14th Amendment Sect 3:
“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”
This would require Senate conviction of the House articles, which also includes such language.
but there is an out (italics).
Okay I’m going to repeat my musings here, even though I’ve commented these elsewhere.
Point One: I was thinking of how in a hundred years history – assuming history still exists, and that people are aware of what happened, and the technology exists to access old electronic documents, and assuming that the government has changed to something, anything, else, something more rational – would characterize this past four years. I don’t know the details of Andrew Johnson’s impeachment, but it is remarked that it was not a criminal prosecution but a political argument regarding his leniency in reconstruction.
How will historians look at the Trump administration? One of continuing turmoil, perhaps of continuous exaggerated charges – and most poignantly,Trump being the only president ever to be impeached and acquitted … twice in a single four year term – and with the second being attempted with less than a week to go before the end of his term. How would they view the validity of the charges against Trump? Any rational person writing with a view to the past, will most certainly judge it to be a time of intense party ambition, intending to sweep up total power. Perhaps something like how the nazis came to power – if of course there is still any reference to the nazis in the future. Or any residual knowledge of them.
Point Two: I have read that the current impeachment is to bar Trump from running (and potentially winning again) in 2024. I have read that all is not lost, that Trump will be a political force upon leaving office. I have read that the Democrats have woefully over-played their hand. And I have read that Democrats will bring in such calamity that Republicans will increase their representation and power in congress in the 2022 midterms. I have even read that the current election results, and the resultant Biden administration will cleanse the Republican Party restore both traditional conservatives and the Party of Reagan.
But I think that that is misplaced thinking and at the crux of our current dilemma. If the Left stole a win from an overwhelmingly popular president, and perhaps stole a run-off election to insure total congressional control, and if the Democrats control the legislatures, and courts, and the executive branches of any State governments that they chose to, be they Republican or Democrat, what ever could make the Republicans ever expect to win an honest election?
It seems to me that the best outcome one could hope for is that Republicans will serve as the loyal and impotent opposition – constituting less than 1/3rd of any legislative body, to give the semblance of bipartisanship, but without any voice other than that which is allowed them by the Democrat super-majority.
I think it’s actually that the Senate would vote not to convict. He has been impeached by the House.
The pandora’s box has been opened only to the degree of a President who whips up a crowd and sends them to invade the capitol, resulting in the death of a police officer
A pandora’s box has been opened only if a future president summons a crowd, whips them up into a fever pitch, and that crowd kills a police officer, invades the capitol and threatens the life of the Vice President and Speaker. I would assume that that won’t happen again.
What a brave group of 10 Representatives! I have contributed to all of their campaign funds, as well as to concerned Senators, and the Republican Accountability Project which will protect these members of congress and will take on those who attack them.
I realize that I opened the door to one of your typical rants, so have at it.
In the practical sense, impeachment has now been relegated to something akin to voting on a piece of legislation. If you have a House majority, there’s a substantial likelihood of passage. Now that impeachment represents nothing more than a partisan House vote, as with a Bill, the door is open to treating it as just like any other vote and to make up the rationale as you go along. Just like here.
#AmericaUnited
He’s president for seven more days. The House should show that they’re really interested in doing the peoples’ business and impeach him seven more times. If Nancy gets enough Botox, perhaps they could impeach him in the morning and the evening just to stay in practice.
Gary’s tale has been refuted. But he still repeats the Charlottesville fable so I don’t expect him to come to terms with the refutation anytime soon.
The House of Representatives, as currently constituted, has shown itself to be a clown show that is unserious about addressing any of the real problems of this nation.
I’m sure this will solve everything.
Well, not everything. But Biden’s inauguration with its #AmericaUnited theme is sure to take care of the rest. What spells United like impeaching a guy for whom 74 million voted.
I, and I’d guess many others, don’t care about your virtue signaling over contributions. You’ve been known to throw money around willy nilly.
And flip flopping to catch the prevailing wind is hardly brave. It’s easy.
Based not on anything the President actually did, but on what a handful of his voters (and likely some infiltrators) did.
And I thought their last impeachment set a bad precedent.
I contributed so many times yesterday and today using my debit card that my bank texted me and asked if I had been the person contributing all of this money to all of these different people!
I invite you to also contribute.
They’d like to keep him from running for President. Probably a mistake. If he can run, some Republicans will go after him for 4 years. If he can’t, he can organize anti Democrat, pro Republican groups and Republicans can support him if they want to compete or want some candidate they’re close to to, run. I want him organizing a new website to take members away from the monstrous monoliths.
Bank or bookmaker?
I try to make in kind contributions here by contesting false narratives, and I suppose that I should thank you for providing the opportunity.
I don’t believe this for one hot minute.
Oh, I kinda do, he has a problem and should seek help. I don’t even mean that sarcastically or in a concern-trolling way, its simply unhealthy and he should ask someone he trust about it.
Nah, it’s too perfect. I mean, this whole detail about his bank texting him to see if it was really him? That didn’t happen. The tells are everywhere.