What, if anything, could convince the Pubs that that they either had to, or wanted to, impeach Trump? Surely neither lying to the FBI nor obstruction of justice will do it. Neither probably would concrete evidence that Trump knew of the Trump Tower meeting. What level of collusion or financial shenanigans do you think could potentially force the Pubs’ hands? And do you think there is anything at all that could send his approval rating below 33%?
Perhaps if he lied under oath about a marital infidelity. I guess Republicans really hate that.
Maybe, just maybe if he was actually filmed shooting pedestrians from his NYC building.
Human sacrifice in the rotunda.
Trying to appoint HRC or even Bill Clinton to the Supreme Court?
In the words of the old joke, if he were caught in bed with a dead girl or live boy.
Maybe if consistent, incontrovertible evidence was obtained showing he worked for Putin and put America’s interests third (Putins first, his own second).
Maybe. But probably not. Trump’s base are living in an alternative reality where every claim against Trump is just a silent coup by the deep state at this point.
If Fox flips, then the people will flip.
Shep Smith will. We’ll have to see what management and the rest of the anchors decide. Presumably, they have an actual investigative team of some form, and those people are going to be pushing back pretty hard.
The latter, yes. The former, not so sure.
Seriously, I don’t think there’s anything.
The next question is what would make FOX turn against him. If they start losing ad revenue, because the MAGAbots stop watching. Chicken <—> egg.
If it’s in their self-interest.
OK, what’s a MAGAbot?
He could give a speech while wearing a tan suit.
You mean, bragging about banging some supermodel who’s actually had nothing to do with him?
Trump isn’t there to get things done. Trump is there to be a gigantic “Fuck You” to the those the right perceive to be enemies. If he pisses off their enemies by telling the truth, by lying, by his actions, by his inactions…it is all to the good as long as it upsets their enemies. They have pretty much turned into The Troll Party.
And what might that realistically be?
Asahi coined this term a while back. It’s the hard-core supporters in the MAGA hats. The ones who turn out by the [del]thousands hundreds[/del] dozens at the rallies.
As long as Mitch McConnell is breathing, impeachment is a non-starter, no matter how many Republicans defect. He’s deeper in Putin’s pocket than Thump is.
I’m going to go out on a limb here. I think we’re going to see a GOP-driven “change of heart” much sooner than many expect.
Mitch McConnell has never been afraid of the MAGA people. In fact, he has used them as cover to continue to push as much of his agenda as he possibly can while Republicans control the House, Senate and Oval Office. Now, the calculus has changed in a big way. McConnell will do whatever it takes to try and protect his majority. Somehow I think the direction he will take in January is going to diverge from Trump’s.
I expect the GOP will use the Mueller report as their basis to dump Trump as fast as they can: “We had no idea the rot went this deep!” (They will be lying, of course.)
Even if Mueller goes after and gets Pence, I don’t think McConnell will mind a President Pelosi. Can you imagine the out-of-the-gate punching bag they’ll have in 2020 if that were to happen?
But Pelosi is wicked smart. She will understand she is merely a placeholder, step aside and throw her considerable political weight behind whichever 2020 candidate she deems best suited for the job. And she has an embarrassment of riches in potential candidates from which to choose.
In the end, I don’t think McConnell much cares who takes the White House in 2020. His work is done, and if he can keep the Senate mostly red, he’ll do what it takes. He will have left his indelible mark on the judicial branch for decades to come, and that’s enough for him. I don’t think he expects a Republican to win in 2020 no matter what.
Look also for the rise of a third party in advance of 2020, headed up by so-called “moderate” Republicans like John Kasich and Mitt Romney.
My predictions, for what they’re worth. (Probably not much!)
Things could get very interesting soon. Even more interesting than they already are. Can we stand the excitement? I’m not sure I can.
I think actual smoking gun evidence of quid-pro-quo with Russia or Suadi Arabia would probably do it. But it would have to basically be a tape of Trump directly agreeing to take action against the interests of the United States, in return for . Anything less will just be viewed as faked by the majority of primary voting Republicans. Even then there will be some who will say the tape is faked but I think there are enough aren’t completely divorced from reality to allow 20 Republican senators to find a conscience.
Quite possibly. Republicans overall would be a lot better off with Trump out of the picture. I suspect McConnell would be a lot happier with a president Pence anyway.
And I keep telling my friends be careful what you wish for. Trump is an embarrassment but also a world class doofus. Pence has been in politics a lot longer and is substantially more dangerous than Trump if he gets his hands on the presidency.
I say leave Trump in office. There is no better advertisement for “Vote Democrat in 2020” than president Trump. A president Pence takes the wind out of those sails.
Not only that. IMO the Dems don’t want to initiate impeachment proceedings because that draws a line and people will take sides. There’s no point in initiating a pitched battle right now; everyone would lose and nothing that the country needs would get done.
If the GOP wants to get on board the impeachment train, I’m sure the Dems will go happily go along. But Dems are smart enough to pick their battles, and they’ve largely won the next 23 months.
Couple that with the fact that as long as Trump is in office, it’s a sure thing IMO that his popularity will decline and his policies will have ill effects, and there’s excellent strategic reasoning to let this term in office run it’s course.