When the Democrat Speaker of the House of Representatives (and I use the word “representatives” very broadly here. God knows they’re more about representing themselves and their own interests than the voters in their districts) has lost CNN, you know she has messed up. Tremendously. Epicly.
In a new piece for CNN.com, Editor-at-Large Chris Cillizza explains to his readers — 99% of them progressive Democrats, of course — that Speaker Pelosi has truly botched her impeachment gambit. Her announcement that she’d send the impeachment articles to the Senate this week, Cillizza writes, “amounts to a stark concession that her plan to delay that action for nearly a month failed.”
“Pelosi’s goal was simple: To try to force Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s hand. Pelosi wanted to use her possession of the articles of impeachment to yield promises and/or compromises from McConnell — most notably on the issue of witnesses being allowed to be called in the Senate trial,” he continues.
However, there was one minor problem: “Except that McConnell wasn’t playing ball.”
“The leverage she imagined she possessed to get McConnell to accede to her wishes didn’t exist,” the CNN editor continues. “McConnell was perfectly happy waiting while Pelosi held on to the articles of impeachment, probably believing rightly that these sorts of delaying tactics would look like just more Washington funny business to the average person.”
Pelosi’s mistake, he concludes, basically boils down to her underestimating “the extent to which the Senate, by its very nature, resists being told what to do in any way, shape or form.” The Senate, he goes on to write, “has never liked being told what to do by the House,” regardless of which power is in power. “Each body views itself as an independent fiefdom, governed by its own rules and codes of conduct. The idea of one chamber telling the other what to do is simply anathema — no matter which party is in charge of each.”
When Pelosi refused to send over the articles of impeachment, progressives everywhere — but especially in the old, corporatist and radical leftist Media Cartel — hailed her for being a master strategist. Oh yes, she was showing Mitch McConnell how it was done. Pelosi was Girlboss. Awesome. Fantastic. Majestic. She was the new and improved Sun Tzu.
Only there was one issue with that talking point: Pelosi is, as Mark Levin frequently explains on his radio show, a horrible strategist. She may not be stupid as such — I highly doubt anyone with an IQ of, say, 65 would become Speaker of the House — but an Intellectual Heavyweight she is not.
Everybody could see that McConnell can do whatever he pleases. The House doesn’t dictate to the Senate how it should approach an impeachment trial. And if the House refuses to send over impeachment articles, well, guess what, the Senate can simply dismiss the impeachment altogether and inform the House that it’s game over. Or the Senate can just wait, and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait… until the end of time. After all, as long as there is no trial, the president remains firmly in the driver’s seat.
What was Pelosi to do? She got bamboozled into going forward with an impeachment based on hurt feelings by some radical, loud-mouthed crybabies that think impeachment is just another political tool to use against opponents. Then she allowed the greatest liar in her arsenal, Schiff, to run perhaps the most biased, prejudiced, factless, crimeless procedure in US (but not Soviet or Nazi German) history.
Democrats establish formal rules that expressly and clearly prohibits fair and balanced introduction of any witness or evidence that did not support the predetermined outcome of impeachment of Trump. So, naturally, she was embarrassed to allow non-partisans to pass judgement on their bigotry without the Democrats being allowed to control the process as they did in the House.
So, what did Nancy have to lose? The moment she allowed impeachment to go forward at all, she lost. And who are her “managers”? The same liars and boobs that got her in this mess.
I just hope that a manager can be called as a witness to testify. Schiff needs to answer UNDER OATH for his lies and coordination with the “whistle blower” before the complaint was ever filed. AND the “whistle blower”.
When I read this, I somehow knew FA would cling to it.
As far a gambled and lost goes, there was never anything to gamble and never anything to lose. Moscow Mitch declared on day 1 that there would be no real trial but instead a fast cover up with no witnesses or anything allowed which might incriminate Trump.
What the time lapse did was further demolish Trump’s claim of innocence,. Until this week, Trump’s main defense was that there was no real evidence of his involvement. Then came John Bolton and Mick Mulvaney willing to testify which forced Trump to refuse to let them-further exposing him as hiding something. We’re seeing more GOP senators distancing themselves of their coverup and we’re seeing more Americans viewing Trump as guilty.
Because of the GOP and Trump corruption and illegal obstruction (article 2) along with Mitch admitting there would be no real trial, Pelosi had a losing hand all along. At least the wait exposed more evidence and gave more Americans the opportunity to see how corrupt and dishonest the party of Trump is.
Actually, Pelosi’s delay may have accomplished much. As of yesterday, there were 3 republican senators who have stated they are open to hearing witness testimony. One more, and Mitch will lose his effort to suppress witness testimony in the Senate. They would then have a hard time keeping Bolton from being heard without the cover-up being so obvious that it would cost them in the coming election.
@Ronald J. Ward:
Repeating What Greg said doesnt make it true.
The insane, billionaire driven House Democrats had the sole (look that word up) power to impeach. Well they gathered a fairytale without solid evidence and went for it. Its not in the constitution that the Senate has to gather evidence for them if so use the mighty powers of cut and paste to prove your point. Every Democrat in the House save 3 thought this was a rock solid case, put it before the senate! You only wish we would cover it up because it really stinks.
Dont worry you still have several months before the resistance weary voters regain the House, and I guess Milwaukee burns.
@Greg:
You still havent figured out what they say and what they actually do….It might just be a fib to get Nancy to fork over the gathered garbage of Schiff. Quickly dismiss it and get on the campaign trail… but hey politicians never lie ..do they?
@Ronald J. Ward:
He has seen the “evidence” the Democrats base their impeachment on. EVERYONE with a sense of justice has the same opinion. However, YOUR Democrats have been calling for Trump’s impeachment from November of 2016; what was THAT based on? How are those people assumed to be honest, critical, objective and just? They are simply looking for an excuse to pursue their agenda.
@kitt: Perhaps he isn’t repeating Greg’s patented remarks but simply getting his thoughts from the same source.
@Greg: McConnell never said anything at all about suppressing witnesses. He has said there is a process to follow and he intends to follow it, not predetermine the outcome as Democrats did in the House. As in any other trial, a preliminary examination of the evidence can result in dismissal for LACK of evidence, which is most certainly the case here. However, McConnell, with idiot Nancy’s help, got Democrats to commit completely to witnesses in a forum where the Democrats cannot block evidence and factual (not opinion) witnesses. Yeah, she accomplished a lot.
@kitt: @Deplorable Me:
Your insistence of no evidence is a product of which you have been indoctrinated into, something that as a devoted Trump worshiper or perhaps an avid Democrat hater, you simply must do. And this new evidence presented before you is also something that your cult forbids you to accept. This is also true of much of Trump’s base, the same as I’ve argued of Trump slaughtering newborns in broad daylight on camera and even admitting it with a promise to do it again.
Likewise, Mitch is bound by the need of his base to reject any evidence or any rationale that would jeopardize their messiah.
Now I understand that you don’t agree with that and amusingly, I don’t care.
But the thing is that not everyone’s eye’s are glazed over from dwelling in Trump’s ass like you and the unhinged haters. So what Pelosi’s move did was to buy time to bring more evidence to the table and ultimately sway more voters plus pressuring some senators in tight races in Nov.
Oh, it won’t keep Trump from being removed from office anymore than it would if he admitted orchestrating another holocaust but it was a politically advantageous move.
@Ronald J. Ward: First, of course, you gloss over the questions. But, no surprise; to buy into the Democrat impeachment, you have to totally avoid reality.
I followed the hearings. There was no evidence Trump extorted anyone nor obstructed Congress. If you have some, why don’t you step right up and present it. If their “evidence” is as solid and irrefutable as they claim, why are they so worried about additional witnesses? Why did Numb-Nancy have to try to pretend she had some leverage on McConnell to hold out of for the same suppressive control in the Senate as Democrats enjoyed in the House? Oh, to hell with it… you can’t face questions.
Here’s what the Democrats have done; impeachment for political gain is now the precedent. All a party needs is a majority in the House; impeachable offenses and evidence is NOT required. A substantial majority in the Senate will totally abrogate any election. That’s the extent of respect for the Constitution your whiny, sore loser, crybaby, anti-American Democrats have shown. It’s been a disgrace.
@Deplorable Me: Isnt it cool that this hand written note proves the 2 vague charges abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Seeking out the loss of 5 to 8 billion dollars of US aid is obstructing congress and abuse of power. Like the Wikileaks dont examine the crime try to discredit the methods that expose the crime?
@Ronald J. Ward: How do you feel about George Soros?
@kitt:
You don’t think he’s going to bad mouth his boss, do you?
@Deplorable Me:
No, I didn’t gloss over the questions but rather disregarded them entirely.
@kitt:
Obviously, reading and comprehending isn’t the long suit of the resident cheer-leading squad here. As mentioned, you and yours have abandoned any form of reason in your allegiance to your assumed god occupying the White House (or, due to your abject hatred of anyone that doesn’t kowtow to your mindset). Aside from your silly notion that invoking Soros or asking stupid questions somehow invalidates your cult behavior, I think Thomas Paine said it best with: “To argue with a person who has denounced reason is like administering medicine to the dead”.
@Deplorable Me: I already knew, #11 just confirmed it.
@Ronald J. Ward: Yeah, you glossed over because the answers and your views don’t coincide. You are, of course, merely parroting lies. Otherwise, you could have answered the questions and really given me a good thrashing with the answers. As it is, I proved you are lying.
@kitt: It was more of a symbolic question, anyway. The answer was already obvious.
I’ve just been watching Maddow’s interview with Lev Parnas and his attorney. Parnas should probably begin wearing a bullet proof vest , assuming he isn’t already. Parnas appears to have been a central player, answering directly to Trump and Giuliani. What he knows about the Ukraine scam could take down Trump and possibly Pence along with him.
This is why those with direct, first hand knowledge of the situation have been blocked from giving testimony. There’s absolutely no ambiguity about the fact that they were all involved in extortion. They could easily connect the dots, leaving no doubt that a crime has taken place.
The full story is going to come out, even if it doesn’t in the Senate. Parnas is going to tell what he knows. He has just demonstrated that he can tell it very clearly. He and his attorney have also just turned over an enormous volume of related and previously unseen documents which may include corroborating evidence. They say they have still more. Bolton is going to tell what he knows. They can’t keep him from doing so.
If Senate republicans allow testimony to be blocked and everything becomes clear after they give Trump a pass, the 2020 elections could be a total disaster for them. This might be their last opportunity to step out of the line boarding the Titanic.
@Greg:
Well, there’s your first mistake. No wonder you suffer from brain damage.
P.S. Parnas is trying desperately to cover his ass. Truth optional. It’s what the NYSlimes “leak” was all about.
But please, continue to prove you’re an idiot, Comrade Greggie.
@retire05, #15:
As if any of your “news” outlets would ever interview Lev Parnas or anyone else who knows the truth about Trump’s Ukraine scam… You’d have to be brain damaged to imagine that they would.
Parnas could be a really big problem. He kept emails, text messages, and documents, all of which he is turning over to the House Intelligence Committee. There may be more than just his story. Like so many before, he’s been dumped and disowned by Trump. Why should he remain silent?
Maddow asked the right questions. It was Parnas who provided the informative answers. Part 2 of the interview will be aired tomorrow.
@Greg: You simply never get tired of getting duped and embarrassed by “bombshell” after “bombshell”, do you? If this guy had ANY credibility on the subject, he wouldn’t be talking with Mr. Madcow. That should be your FIRST clue, but you’re not a clue-centric person.
@retire05: So MSM is calling this guy Rudy’s henchmen, seems a bit odd. As Rudy zeros in on missing squandered US aid money there are sweeping investigations into everyone in his orbit. Them following the Ambassadors suspicious activities as she quashed investigations by the Ukraine into the Aid money and fake black books etc seems to have made them very nervous.
The Bidens have been dirty for years, billions in missing aid is tempting to investigate. Especially since Biden has become a multimillionaire since leaving office. He needs to be RICO’ed.
@Greg:
Oh, please, do look into your crystal ball and tell me what news outlets are mine. I will be waiting eagerly for your answer.
Parnas could really have a big problem. He is working hard to play the shell game in order to cover his own ass. No surprise, crooks are liars.
And we can know when he wrote those documents how? You are so easily duped, Comrade Greggie. I almost feel sorry for you………………….no, I don’t really. As to his “emails, text messages,” guess we’ll find out what they say during Parnas’ trial.
Wasn’t all that long ago when Michael Avanatti was her hero. She sure can pick ’em. Maybe that is why her show is sinking faster than the Titanic.
Oh, well, she still has you. If it wasn’t for stupid people, she’d be working at McDonald’s.
@retire05, #19:
It wasn’t Maddow telling anybody anything. It was Lev Parnas, the guy who received a $1 million payment from Ukrainian billionaire oligarch Dmitry Firtash. According to Parnas, Firtash was involved with Guiliani’s ongoing, full-court-press efforts to cook up a Ukrainian government-approved-and-publicly-announced investigation of the Bidens. In return, Guiliani was to use his Trump administration connections to help Firtash evade extradition to the United States, where he is currently under criminal indictment for using U.S. financial institutions as conduits to bribe Indian officials for titanium mining licenses. If tried and convicted, Firtash would be looking at serious prison time.
We’ve got criminality right, left, and in the middle, involving an incestuous marriage between government and corporate corruption. It’s all going to blow up just as Bolton predicted. According to Parnas, Trump knew everything from the start. These people are all Trump’s tools.
Withholding military aid wasn’t the only threat made. According to Parnas, the new Ukrainian government was led to believe that without compliance they would lose U.S. favor entirely. A threat was made that the U.S. would send no one to attend Zelensky’s inauguration, which would have greatly diminished the new government’s credibility and stature. This message was conveyed by Parnas at Guiliani’s instruction and timed to coincide with the abrupt cancellation of Pence’s scheduled visit, which lent immediate weight to Parnas’s threat.
One indication of stupidity might be an inability to figure out the obvious. That certainly isn’t Maddow’s problem. She’s one of the most insightful and best informed commentators on televised media, and has a gift for clearly articulating what she comes to understand. That’s the main reason Trump supporters hate her. Trump cannot function in any environment where truth is understood and clearly articulated. Truth to Trump is like sunlight to a vampire.
@Greg: Dude we want to hear everything this guy has to say, see all the evidence, every time ,every single time the evidence points to crimes committed by democrats or their minions.
You just never seem to learn, in their panic they make really stupid mistakes and expose themselves.
No one wants to kill this Parnas guy.
@kitt:
If he doesn’t say what Democrats want him to say, THEY will. They’ve built a totally phony impeachment case; they seriously need to prop it up.
@Greg:
Never said it was. But apparently, in order to bolster your argument, you have to put words in other people’s mouth.
Wanna talk about how much money Joe Biden’s crack head son got from the crooked Burisma owner?
Are you saying that the President of Ukraine lied when he said “No pressure” meaning there was never any threat to withhold military aid to the Ukraine? And why are you not talking about the letter sent to Lutsenko where the Democrats basically said “Nice country you got there. It would be a shame if we decided to withhold aid because you won’t investigate Trump.” And yes, I know that is not what the letter said, but it was the same damn thing.
You can put all your faith in the MadCow, but the bottom line is she is a grand standing political hack and wouldn’t make a pimple on a real journalists ass. Mueller, Comey, Avanatti, all the “smoking gun” that was going to take Trump down according to MadCow.
The fact that you still rely on her to provide you with facts shows just how far you have slipped mentally. Or perhaps you just need to rely on lies to bolster your own hatred of one man.
@Deplorable Me: They have NY prosecutors conjuring up life sentences for this guy, for funneling foreign money into political campaigns. (Barrys campaign paid a huge fine for accepting those what ever happened to those that gave the contributions) They somehow get a subpoena for, unrelated to any charges, anything and everything dealing with Ukraine? Yet no charges leveled against Lev for anything he did there.
I cant wait for part 2 of the interview… the underwear stains and how those prove Trumps guilt.
@kitt: Maybe he’ll give Madcow some more of Trump’s tax returns?
@Deplorable Me: Do you think she will ask him why he paid Rudy 500K to become a Trump minion?
Never mind this smells fresh as a daisy.