# The Trump Impeachment Inquiry **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 24, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771 "2019-09-24T20:23:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 275
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5481 "2019-11-22T20:33:31Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > I had a thought while reading a rundown of the weeks of impeachment testimony on Reddit: the republicans seem to be assuming that there’s nothing the American people can do to touch them. They’ve gerrymandered so much that our votes don’t count and the electoral college votes “on our behalf” but lately actually against us. The current administration has shown that there’s no scandal so big they will get thrown out of office. That’s a big exaggeration but I don’t feel like typing EVERYTHING that we’ve discussed here over the last few weeks. You guys know what I’m talking about. There is one thing we haven’t tried and I want to know if it’s because it’s not possible or just that nobody thought of it. What if we built up a giant class action lawsuit against the republican party, with some members specified by name like Moscow Mitch? > > I want those idiots out of the senate but more to the point right now I think the whole party needs to be removed. Lots of complications, like building a new party to replace them (if we stick with a two-party system), or eliminating the party system entirely. Really, my thought was that if We The People can’t dictate our system of government by voting, then how about the legal system? Thing is, our two-party system isn’t something that you engineer from the ground up; it’s an emergent property of the winner-take-all and first-past-the-post voting systems that have characterized elections in this country since, well, pretty much forever. The Republican Party needs to cease existing, for the good of the nation (dibs on their financial assets ;)), yes; but once it does, the Democratic Party will schism, and we’ll have two parties once again. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5482 "2019-11-22T20:35:27Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > All reprehensible actions, of course. My issue though was with your use of the words “strategy” and “lawless”, suggesting to me at least a desire on the part of the Republicans to turn the US into a society run amok, if the alternative is to have no Republican party at all. In any case, while I’ve long said that if the US ever goes under, and eventually becomes something far from a democracy, it won’t happen overnight. It will begin with things such as you mention, and may take a 100 years, but that’s how it will start. No they don’t want _society_ to be lawless, they just don’t want those laws to apply to _them_. Big difference. Harsh laws for thee, but none for me. It’s about the privileged doing everything in their power to maintain that privilege, even if it means we don’t have a democracy anymore. They will be in power and unaccountable. All of us will be under their thumb though. So no they don’t want anarchy, they want dictatorship. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Peebles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Jim\_Peebles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Peebles)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5483 "2019-11-22T20:36:25Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > If the Democrats had ignored all the corrupt, hateful, and bigoted things Trump has said and done, they would have lost most black voters, most LGBTQ voters, and most white voters who are opposed to corruption and bigotry. And yet, the walkaway movement exists: > **[\#WalkAway Campaign](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDb4InP9mRZR9oogD1b2dOQ/videos?app=desktop)** > > The #WalkAway Campaign is a true grassroots movement, founded by former liberal, Brandon Straka, dedicated to providing a place to share #WalkAway testimonials and personal journeys to freedom.The #WalkAway Campaign is a movement of Patriots from all... ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5484 "2019-11-22T20:37:04Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > If I had to accept a label it would be Libertarian. I actually long thought I would never vote Republican for any office. Now I intend to vote all Republican so they can’t remove the true outsider Trump from office. If they hadn’t gone berserk with impeachment since even before Trump was sworn in, i would have voted mixed for the other offices. I guess I am one of the swing voters the Democrats have lost entirely for 2020. > [@Running\_with\_Scissors](#): > > Out of spite, it sounds like. Yeah, what happened to your nose, **Jim**? ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5485 "2019-11-22T20:38:36Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > And yet, the walkaway movement exists: > [https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCDb4InP9mRZR9oogD1b2dOQ/videos](https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCDb4InP9mRZR9oogD1b2dOQ/videos) No it doesn’t. That’s Russian propaganda you fell for. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5486 "2019-11-22T20:38:56Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > If I had to accept a label it would be Libertarian. I actually long thought I would never vote Republican for any office. Now I intend to vote all Republican so they can’t remove the true outsider Trump from office. If they hadn’t gone berserk with impeachment since even before Trump was sworn in, i would have voted mixed for the other offices. I guess I am one of the swing voters the Democrats have lost entirely for 2020. Thanks for the RSVP. We’ll let the caterer know you won’t be joining. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5487 "2019-11-22T20:41:36Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > If I had to accept a label it would be Libertarian. I actually long thought I would never vote Republican for any office. Now I intend to vote all Republican so they can’t remove the true outsider Trump from office. If they hadn’t gone berserk with impeachment since even before Trump was sworn in, i would have voted mixed for the other offices. I guess I am one of the swing voters the Democrats have lost entirely for 2020. That’s funny-I could have sworn seeing you use the term “mainstream media” more than once, defend a Trump speech, and you didn’t seem to be iffy about your support of Trump in [this thread.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=852922) Are you using a definition of “swing voter” the rest of us are unfamiliar with? ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5488 "2019-11-22T20:43:59Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That’s funny-I could have sworn seeing you use the term “mainstream media” more than once, defend a Trump speech, and you didn’t seem to be iffy about your support of Trump in [his thread.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=852922) > Are you using a definition of “swing voter” the rest of us are unfamiliar with? He may not be conscious of it, but I think it’s a way for some to be able to support the GOP but then not have to feel guilty about it. If they can blame the left for forcing their hand then they get to avoid responsibility for their actions and choices. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5489 "2019-11-22T20:44:05Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > And yet, the walkaway movement exists: > [https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCDb4InP9mRZR9oogD1b2dOQ/videos](https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCDb4InP9mRZR9oogD1b2dOQ/videos) [It’s made up of stock photos](https://www.fastcompany.com/90207120/these-people-who-walked-away-from-the-democrats-are-stock-photo-models), [Russian Bots](https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/17/opinions/russian-bots-2018-midterm-elections-opinion-love/index.html), and [failed events](https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/walkaway-movement-isaiah-washington/). It exists, but in terms of numbers, it’s got nothing on Flat-Earthers, vaccine hoaxers, crusty-punks, or diaper fetishists. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Peebles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Jim\_Peebles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Peebles)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5490 "2019-11-22T21:05:35Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > No it doesn’t. That’s Russian propaganda you fell for. I didn’t fall for it. I wasn’t aware of its existence until after the 2016 election. And I don’t believe its members are Russian agents. In fact, I chuckle whenever someone accuses someone of being a Russian agent. Whoever is writing the mainstream talking points is part of an older generation that remembers the cold war. ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5491 "2019-11-22T21:08:25Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Thing is, our two-party system isn’t something that you engineer from the ground up; it’s an emergent property of the winner-take-all and first-past-the-post voting systems that have characterized elections in this country since, well, pretty much forever. The Republican Party needs to cease existing, for the good of the nation (dibs on their financial assets ;)), yes; but once it does, the Democratic Party will schism, and we’ll have two parties once again. True, but if at the same time we outlaw gerrymandering, implement some regulations around campaign financing and stronger enforcement on all the things we’ve just been shown to be weak in our “balance of powers”, maybe the next two parties won’t be as bad. For a while. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5492 "2019-11-22T21:09:26Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > I didn’t fall for it. I wasn’t aware of its existence until after the 2016 election. And I don’t believe its members are Russian agents. In fact, I chuckle whenever someone accuses someone of being a Russian agent. Whoever is writing the mainstream talking points is part of an older generation that remembers the cold war. There are no members, at least not in any appreciable sense. Democratic identification, and voting, has only gone up since 2016. The Democrats are doing better now (as most clearly indicated by their massive success in the 2018 elections) than they were in 2016. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Peebles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Jim\_Peebles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Peebles)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5493 "2019-11-22T21:11:12Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That’s funny-I could have sworn seeing you use the term “mainstream media” more than once, defend a Trump speech, and you didn’t seem to be iffy about your support of Trump in [this thread.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=852922) > Are you using a definition of “swing voter” the rest of us are unfamiliar with? I would have been third party / democrat before 2016. And if the Dems hadn’t gone crazy about impeachment, I would have only voted Republican where I thought Trump needed a little extra help. Now I see they want to impeach him at all costs, and can’t afford to vote Dem for anything in 2020. Actually can’t afford not to vote Republican. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5494 "2019-11-22T21:11:44Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > I didn’t fall for it. I wasn’t aware of its existence until after the 2016 election. And I don’t believe its members are Russian agents. In fact, I chuckle whenever someone accuses someone of being a Russian agent. Whoever is writing the mainstream talking points is part of an older generation that remembers the cold war. You just posted about a fake movement started by Russia and spread through right wing twitter and facebook. Yes, you fell for it. It is not a real thing. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5495 "2019-11-22T21:12:02Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > I didn’t fall for it. I wasn’t aware of its existence until after the 2016 election. And I don’t believe its members are Russian agents. In fact, I chuckle whenever someone accuses someone of being a Russian agent. Whoever is writing the mainstream talking points is part of an older generation that remembers the cold war. Oh Noes!! I think we just lost a Trump supporter to Trump! ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5496 "2019-11-22T21:15:21Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I don’t think Republicans necessarily want a dictatorship, but they do want to ensure minority rule. By that I mean, they want the interests and agenda 1/5 the population to dominate the rest of the country, similar to how oligarchs rule Russia, how a Shia minority dominates Syria and how the Sunni minority dominated Iraq. It \*seems \*like you think Republicans are pretty much okay with the idea that the US turn into an oligarchy or a theocracy, perhaps not on the same level, but somewhere kind of near it, as some of the worst regimes in the world right now, and they’re okay with it as long as they stay in power. Am I wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5497 "2019-11-22T21:15:57Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > I didn’t fall for it. I wasn’t aware of its existence until after the 2016 election. And I don’t believe its members are Russian agents. In fact, I chuckle whenever someone accuses someone of being a Russian agent. Whoever is writing the mainstream talking points is part of an older generation that remembers the cold war. You weren’t aware of it until after the 2016 election because the #WalkAway “movement” didn’t exist until 2018. It was a bullshit attempt to diminish Democratic turnout in the midterms, with descriptions of it ranging from a [fundraising tool for right-wing grifters](https://thinkprogress.org/is-the-right-wing-walkaway-march-already-falling-apart-95dbce937e2a/) to [“propaganda” connected to “Kremlin-linked Russia bots.”](https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/17/opinions/russian-bots-2018-midterm-elections-opinion-love/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5498 "2019-11-22T21:20:03Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > It \*seems \*like you think Republicans are pretty much okay with the idea that the US turn into an oligarchy or a theocracy, perhaps not on the same level, but somewhere kind of near it, as some of the worst regimes in the world right now, and they’re okay with it as long as they stay in power. Am I wrong? You are not wrong. If they could enforce a permanent Republican government they would do it in a heartbeat and never think twice about it. They have been trying to do this for a long time actually. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Peebles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Jim\_Peebles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Peebles)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5499 "2019-11-22T21:23:37Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > You just posted about a fake movement started by Russia and spread through right wing twitter and facebook. Yes, you fell for it. It is not a real thing. Wikipedia suggests that is debatable: > **[WalkAway campaign](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WalkAway_campaign)** > > The #WalkAway campaign is a social-media campaign that was launched ahead of the United States 2018 mid-term elections with the stated purpose of encouraging liberals to leave the Democratic Party. The campaign, which also organized events to support Donald Trump, was noted and criticized for its astroturfing methods and the claim that there was a popular movement of people leaving the party. > In 2021, the group's founder, Brandon Straka, a hairstylist from New York City, was charged with and... I am open to proof it was started by Russia though. In fact, if true, I would find it fascinating reading. Although then we are way off topic. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2019, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/5500 "2019-11-22T21:25:29Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > Wikipedia suggests that is debatable: > [WalkAway campaign - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WalkAway_campaign) > I am open to proof it was started by Russia though. In fact, if true, I would find it fascinating reading. Although then we are way off topic. If the “Walk Away” movement was real and significant, we’d actually see some evidence in elections and polls. In 2018, the Democrats won by a very significant margin. And current polling shows the party as strong or stronger, nation wide. There’s no evidence the Democratic party is shrinking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771.md?page=274) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771.md?page=276)