House Speaker Nancy Pelosi finds herself sinking in political quicksand as high-ranking members of her own party have broken ranks and demand she sends the phony articles of impeachment to the Senate.
The once-powerful speaker appears to have lost her stranglehold over her fellow Democrat party members. It was the likes of the so-called “Squad” of naïve congresswomen and other fringe elements that forced her to go down the impeachment rabbit hole in the first place.
The once-savvy politician understood that the Senate’s GOP majority would not remove President Trump unless there was clear and indisputable evidence of a high crime or misdemeanor. The House trial showed Democrats case is built on debunked rumors, and the opinions of Ivy League hacks.
“I don’t quite know what the strategy is. If you’re going to do it, do it. If you’re not going to do it, don’t,” California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said of Pelosi’s withholding the articles. “The longer it goes on, the less urgent it becomes. So, if it’s serious and urgent, send them over. If it isn’t, don’t send it over.”
According to reports, other Democrat senators have also grown weary of Pelosi’s stall and delay tactics. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who despite being a Democrat is expected to side with Republicans on the outlandish allegations, saying Pelosi “should move on.” Montana Sen. Jon Tester went on the record stating he’s more than ready to start, and Delaware Sen. Chris Coons reportedly said, “I do think it is time to get on with it.”
The Speaker indicated that she was initially trying to negotiate with Senate leadership over the impeachment trial process. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell deftly pointed out that she has no constitutional authority to dictate terms.
Pelosi was embarrassingly rebuffed by Sen. McConnell, who has said the Senate would move forward without her sending over the articles, if necessary.
“Their turn is over. They’ve done enough damage. It’s the Senate’s turn now to render sober judgment,” Sen. McConnell said. “Fifty-one senators determine what we do and there will be, I’m sure, intense discussion, once we get past phase one, about the whole witness issue. We have the votes.”
Leader McConnell has indicated that he planned to pass a bipartisan measure to utilize the standard applied in the Clinton impeachment trial.
After weeks of pressure and the groundswell of her own party turning on her, Pelosi bowed in concession and promised to send over the articles on Thursday.
“No, I’m not holding them indefinitely,” Pelosi said. “I’ll send them over when I’m ready. That will probably be soon.”
Not hours after yielding, she once again began acting like a petulant child and did not budge by day’s end. Political insiders believe that Pelosi is procrastinating because she anticipates Democrats will be roundly discredited, even worse than after the Russia witch hunt.
Having failed to lead or effect any damage control for her party’s misguided impeachment inquiry, Pelosi could face censure in the House for abuse of power. Alabama Rep. Bradley Byrne has reportedly authored such a measure.
“Speaker Pelosi’s decision to hold the articles of impeachment against President Trump in a pathetic and unconstitutional attempt to extract concessions from the Senate is an unprecedented abuse of power,” Rep Byrne reportedly said. “House Democrats made the misguided decision to rush through the most legally unsound and factually unsupported articles of impeachment in the history of this country, and they can’t now insist that the Senate fix their shoddy, incomplete work.”
Given the already discredited claims in the Democrats’ articles of impeachment, prompt exoneration is expected. Voters will likely show their displeasure for the political charade in the November elections.
