House Democrats’ most edge towards impeachment proceedings reveals that their fanatical hatred of President Trump, which has driven much of their agenda over the past two and a half years, has not abated in the slightest.
On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the House will move forward with an “impeachment inquiry” into President Trump due to allegations that he pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate corruption charges against 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. However, the latest calls for impeachment may end up hurting Democrats’ chances of recapturing the White House in 2020.
Impeachment is a mistake for two reasons: impeachment is generally an unpopular endeavor and Joe Biden will be the one to suffer if Trump’s phone call with Ukraine, the alleged basis for this current round of impeachment calls, is investigated to the fullest extent.
Historically, the unpopularity of impeachment is not a new phenomenon. In fact, it’s often regarded as a form of political “trauma,” under which the nation should only be subjected in extreme cases. Instead, over the past three years Democrats have abused the seriousness of the process, treating impeachment discussions as a form of cathartic therapy to cope with their candidate’s loss in 2016. The fact that they are pushing for impeachment on the basis of hearsay before any transcript of the phone call has been released evinces this very point.
Removing a president from office requires both a majority in the House to impeach and a two-thirds majority in the Senate to convict. Given the current breakdown of the Senate, a minimum of 20 Republican senators would have to vote to convict, and it is highly unlikely that Democrats will be able to convince Republicans to vote for removal when currently the entire basis of the allegations is hearsay. Thus, if the Democrats do opt to go forward with impeachment, the process is unlikely to amount to much more than a show trial.
Thus, beyond failing to advance the removal of Trump, what the supposed “impeachment inquiry” likely will do is relitigate something the Democrats’ current 2020 frontrunner had probably hoped to put to rest.
Despite the left’s attempts to focus the hysteria on the allegations, there is plenty amiss about Joe Biden’s involvement in Ukraine, events that are genuinely worthy of investigation. While serving as vice president, Joe Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its prosecutor general, who was then investigating the natural gas company paying Biden’s son as much as $55,000 per month to sit on its board. Biden can be seen here bragging about his role in having the prosecutor removed.
In an era in which the left perpetually accuses Trump of corruption and nepotism, it would be an uncomfortable endeavor for the ;eft to explain how Biden’s desire to fire Ukraine’s top prosecutor had nothing to do with the fact that the prosecutor was investigating his son’s company.
Pelosi’s launching of the impeachment inquiry into Trump seems to offer nothing promising to Democrats. Indeed, as NPR reporter Tim Mak tweeted, none of the Democratic lawmakers he confronted were able to offer a consistent answer about what launching an “impeachment inquiry” would mean, aside from more aggressive efforts to impeach that fall short of actually filing for impeachment.
If Democrats do go forward with impeachment, they are taking an incredible risk, and they know it, which is why they are not actually proceeding to impeachment right now but instead bluffing about an “impeachment inquiry.” Right now, according to Real Clear Politics, Joe Biden is not only the Democratic frontrunner but also enjoys a lead of nearly 10 points over his current primary competitor, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma.), when polls are averaged.
Biden has been polling as the candidate most able to beat Trump in the general election. Thus, as Democrats push for impeachment proceedings against Trump on the basis of the Ukraine phone call, what they are really advocating for is a full-blown investigation of arguably their most electable candidate.
Despite the limited gains to be had from impeachment beyond the momentary ego boost, the Democrats may very well take the plunge. They have driven their base into such hysterics that anything less than impeachment will seem like capitulation and therefore, will be deemed unacceptable. But it won’t be Trump who bears the brunt of the blowback from possible impeachment. It will be Democrats.
