Impeachment Is Not A Spectator Sport

After months of avoiding an impeachment inquiry, Nancy Pelosi was forced to begin one because a government official had finally produced a smoking gun and Trump confirmed it with the release of the call with Ukraine.

It would be very tempting to sit back and let Congress do its work, but that would be a massive mistake. Pelosi is approaching this is a gingerly, almost apologetic fashion. She has been pushing for a narrow, rather than a broad inquiry. She has taken the investigation out of the more progressive Judiciary Committee and put it in the hands of the more conservative Intelligence Committee. This is evidently part of a laughable strategy intended to get the support of moderate Republicans. The last 25 years appear to have taught the Democratic leadership nothing about who they are dealing with.

If we leave them to their own devices these are the stupid kinds of decisions the Democrats will make. We simply cannot allow this. Impeachment is not a spectator sport. We need to be constantly calling and contacting our Democratic reps and letting them know that we want a broad inquiry and to act from a position of strength, not weakness. The lily-livered types will get scared of the polls, instead of acting in ways that will persuade voters and move those poll numbers. Make them more afraid of their base than they are of vague "swing voters."

At the same time, pressure needs to be put on Republicans. I know that it seems like a long shot to expect Republicans to turn coat, but if GOP politicos think their futures are at stake, they can potentially be persuaded. Make them defend Trump's unhinged Twitter rants, which are doing a lot to undermine his defenders. Show up to their town meetings and make them have to own this. I don't know if this will work, but it beats not trying. There have been moments where GOP support for Trump has wavered (the Access Hollywood tape, for example.) The point is to turn wavering into defection.

We cannot watch this on television as our nightly entertainment. We need to be out in the streets and demanding justice. This weekend I was in DC, and I witnessed a pathetically small pro-Trump rally on the National Mall. There must've been more flags than people. The other side is mostly old and comfortable. They do not have the energy or guts for a real fight. The most deplorable elements are being whipped up by "civil war" rhetoric. We cannot fight back against that with Facebook memes. Those in power, both Republican and Democrat, must feel the pressure from below. They will not make the right choice on their own, we have to create a situation where they are forced to take that choice. So let's get out there and do it!