That’s right! And once you have him on that, Coates can write a scathing article in the atlantic about it.
As for the bigger question, this looks to me like an abusive marriage. The Republicans in Congress are unhappy with Trump but they’ve made a commitment to him. They could break with him but they’re don’t know what will happen if they do. As bad as things are with him, they worry things might be worse without him. They also worry about Trump, because he is their President. And they know the break up will be ugly at best and might turn violent. So they muddle through day by day and hope things will get better. Or at least hope today won’t be one of the bad days.
In what fucking universe is Trump persuadable? How is this a possibility in your mind? What does even step one of this process look like?
Yeah, that is utterly ridiculous. If Trump goes down he is going down kicking and screaming and taking down as many Republicans as he can along the way. Going quietly for the good of the party is simply not a realistic possibility.
Impeaching a President for trivial reasons will damage our country, hurt the Republican party, be unpopular with millions of voters, and please only Democrats.
Oh, the reasons won’t be trivial, not like a blowjob.
Because if they get rid of him, their agenda comes to a complete halt. Pence wouldn’t have any credibility, they’d lose the House and maybe the Senate. Most Republicans love the guy. Why would they impeach him?
Most importantly, they would never get tax “reform” done, so their wealthy supporters may bail on them.
If you don’t think the Republicans (congress and the White House) are getting things done, read this from the NY Times:
That is an editorial and obviously written from a liberal point of view, but untangle the inflammatory language (“Health Care Sabotage”) and replace it with more neutral language (“Dismantle Obamacare”) and you’ll see that they are making progress from their perspective.
Impeach or otherwise get rid of Trump and that all comes to an end.
So:
- Their base and many members of congress completely support the guy
- He would take the party down with him
- Their agenda would come to a grinding halt, especially the tax bill
What’s not to love?
What Republicans would want to do that? Not even the two guys retiring and the dying one.
Exactly. There are no more Republicans, only Trumpniks.
Emphasis added.
“Survive,” of course, means “stay in office.” Because that is the most important thing. More important than serving the public, protecting people’s rights, giving a shit about the well-being of our citizens–none of that matters. Just stay in office and dance to the tune of the chimp in the Oval Office. To what end? Who cares?
Chris Christie would agree with you
The saving grace is that Ted Cruz has to publicly support the man who said that his father killed Kennedy and that his wife looks crazy and ugly.
If they wait a year, Pence could be President for 10 years.
Congress does not “call in” the President for anything. The President may choose to testify or not as he sees fit. Separation of powers and all that.
Neither Andrew Johnson nor Bill Clinton ever appeared in front of Congress during their impeachment proceedings. If Congress couldn’t compel the President to appear for his own trial, they sure as hell won’t get him for some pissant committee hearing.
Easy solution, impeach him, then call him for questioning. 
Yes, I think you may have it.
“Everyone hates Ted Cruz.”
Well, there’s this annoying little thing called “the law” standing in their way. In order for Trump to be impeached, he would have to commit a crime.
Article 2 of the Constitution:
I don’t often say this, but puddleglum is right: Removing a President, or forcing a President to resign in the face of removal, would badly damage the President’s party. Which means that they aren’t going to want to do it.
Why don’t the Republicans in Congress make up a bogus charge and impeach Trump?
Answer: because then “making up a bogus charge to impeach the President,” is a tactic that’s on the table for the next Congress and the next President. C’mon, Elizabeth Warren. Run, Win, even. Then see how long you stay.
Nope, sorry – Trump has busted so many norms, I grant, but the fix is not busting more norms to remove him.
How about Obstruction of Justice, as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1512 (b)(3)? That’s a crime.
In any case, ‘high crimes and misdemeanours’ was, at the time the Constitution was written, understood to include behaviour not compatible with the office, and do not have to be criminal in nature. James Madison believed that impeachment was a remedy for ‘incapacity, negligence, or perfidy’.
Or the $25,000 ‘political contribution’ to DA Pam Bondi when she was considering investigating ‘Trump U’. Sure, that was just a coincidence. :rolleyes: Bribery and graft. They should both have their feet held to the fire for that.
Anyway, Johnny has it right. Trump admitted in a television interview that the reason he got rid of Commey was because of the ‘Russian thing’. That’s Obstruction.
And as Johnny said, Congress can decide what ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’ covers.