Pelosi's patience on impeachment pays off -- so far

[ehrnst]

The speaker of the House had to balance impeachment calls from her most vocal progressives with the interests of the freshmen majority-makers from swing districts. At every turn, Pelosi sided with these more moderate members, calculating that a premature call for impeachment could do far more damage than good for her caucus.
.....................................

With the latest news about Trump's call with the Ukrainian president, and that a week before he had directed his acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to put a hold on millions in military aid to Ukraine, Pelosi's bet that Trump would continue to act recklessly and provide Democrats with more fodder for impeachment paid off.

By waiting to assent to impeachment, Pelosi accomplished several strategic goals. Democrats have now created the appearance that impeachment of Trump is a last resort, not a first resort. She divorced the process from the mess of the Mueller findings. And she allowed those moderate freshmen who built her majority, rather than the divisive members on the left, to lead on the issue.

An impeachment inquiry now gives every part of Pelosi's caucus what they want. For the left, it's the long-awaited chance to go after Trump. For her institutionalist allies, it's the chance to enforce the checks and balances. For the vulnerable freshmen, it's a more clear-cut example of potential abuse of power than what was uncovered by Mueller. That makes it an easier sell to swing voters back home. "What she's seeing here are the members she was very focused on [protecting in 2020] are starting to come around to the conclusion that this is the only responsible path," said one House Democratic source.

What's different for many Democratic members -- and thus, what's prompting Pelosi to lean forward on impeachment -- are the particulars of Trump's actions. First, there is the sense that Trump is acting inappropriately in plain sight. There was Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, who admitted last week he had previously spoken to a Ukrainian official about the need for Ukraine to investigate the company tied to Biden's son Hunter.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/24/politics/pelosi-impeachment-patience/index.html

[Me.]

1. Smarter Than Most

She knew he would eventually hang himself and she was right. If she had allowed the House to jump the gun trying to make sense of Mueller's confused report we wouldn't be here right now..."a premature call for impeachment could do far more damage than good for her caucus" And even better noy only the Jackal in the WH has been caught, but Barr too.

[USALiberal]

2. She was smarter than anyone here! Nt

[dsp3000]

11. Agreed. To all those who were calling for AOC to be the speaker, hope you can understand now

Experience in this role matters. this woman knows what shes doing!

[herding cats]

3. She's smarter than her critics.

Always has been and will be. She knew her enemy and bided her time until not only Trump but Barr both are caught.

[ehrnst]

6. And they could not STAND her refusal to break down, apologize, get flustered, cry or

express concern in the face what many in the public at large were throwing at her in the way of unmistakeable misogynistic and ageist slurs.

In a male Democratic politician, that kind of courage to stay the course you know is right, despite pressure to reverse or change direction is considered "ethical strength, and purity of vision."

"Constant as the North Star" people will say about such a man.

[herding cats]

7. The double standard has definitely been a factor.

Sadly, it hasn't just been deployed by the R's. Strong women elicit knee-jerk reactions still today.

Nancy is showing everyone how intelligent she is, just like she always has throughout her long career.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. K&R

[George II]

5. Every step she's taken since last November has been correct and done at precisely the right time.

[ehrnst]

8. There is a lot of scrambling on Twitter to credit this move forward to "activists"

Last edited Fri Sep 27, 2019, 08:58 AM - Edit history (1)

and "progressives" and that Pelosi has nothing positive to do with it, especially left wing white male twitter.

She also has the self-assurance, maturity and ability to prioritize to not get into angry, defensive, pointless, attention-mongering twitter wars with them.

She understands that there's actual work to be done, and it's not to nurture one's twitter following.

"Just win, Baby!"

[egduj]

9. I'm glad she finally came round.

[ehrnst]

10. Lol. She proved her detractors wrong, and played Trump like a violin.

President Donald Trump was incredulous Tuesday as he sat in Trump Tower and watched House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announce she was launching a formal impeachment inquiry against him, sources familiar with the moment say. Sitting in the same building where he launched his long shot presidential campaign four years ago, Trump said he couldn't believe it, he later told people.

He had felt confident after phoning Pelosi earlier that morning. The drive for impeachment in her caucus had ramped up amid reports he pushed the Ukrainian President to investigate Joe Biden, and Trump was hoping to head off a clash. He figured he could de-escalate tensions by speaking with her directly.

It was after that call that Trump made the decision to release an "unredacted" version of the transcript of his July call -- against the advice of aides such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who warned him it would set a risky precedent. Trump wanted to undercut the argument from Democrats that he acted inappropriately, he said, and felt he had nothing to hide.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/25/politics/donald-trump-incredulous-nancy-pelosi-impeachment/index.html

[malaise]

12. THIS