Pelosi puts the kibosh on impeachment: good politics or bad precedent?
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Liz Marlantes Politics Editor
| Washington
Dear readers:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made news this week when she that she is 鈥渘ot for impeachment.鈥�
鈥淯nless there鈥檚 something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don鈥檛 think we should go down that path, because it divides the country,鈥� Ms. Pelosi said in an interview.
Why We Wrote This
By saying she won鈥檛 pursue it without bipartisan support, some wonder if the Speaker is setting too high a standard for impeachment.
House Intelligence chairman Adam Schiff echoed that view at a Monitor breakfast yesterday, telling the assembled reporters that Ms. Pelosi is 鈥渁bsolutely right.鈥�
None of this should be remotely surprising to anyone, really, because it鈥檚 basic politics. If House Democrats were to impeach the president, the Republican-controlled Senate would almost certainly vote against convicting and removing him from office.
Anyone who can remember the Clinton years knows that impeachment proceedings would push voters even further into their partisan camps 鈥� and very possibly create new sympathy and enthusiasm for Mr. Trump in quarters where it previously did not exist. Frankly, it could help him win reelection.
In other words, Ms. Pelosi doesn鈥檛 want to impeach Mr. Trump 鈥� because she wants to beat him.
鈥淩unning against Trump was a winning strategy in the 2018 midterms, which saw Democrats gain 40 House seats and a 7 percent popular vote margin with record turnout,鈥� The Bulwark鈥檚 Benjamin Parker. 鈥淧elosi would be foolish to change that formula.鈥�
Trump supporters say Pelosi and the Democrats are trying to have it both ways 鈥� accusing the president of misdeeds, but not putting their money where their mouth is, so to speak. 鈥淭hey have a constitutional responsibility to act if they believe they have the evidence,鈥� GOP strategist Ed Rogers in the Washington Post. 鈥淎ren鈥檛 there supposed to be mounds and mounds of evidence against Trump?鈥澛�
Likewise, some wonder if the Speaker is inadvertently setting a new standard that will make impeachment all but impossible in the future.
If House Democrats won鈥檛 impeach Mr. Trump, regardless of what special counsel Robert Mueller finds, 鈥渨ould that set the bar so high that impeachment will no longer be a viable option?鈥� the New York Times鈥檚 Peter Baker and Emily Cochrane. By saying she would need bipartisan buy-in to proceed, Ms. Pelosi essentially 鈥渓eaves impeachment in the hands of the president鈥檚 own party.鈥�
Let us know what you鈥檙e thinking at csmpolitics@csmonitor.com.
