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Several Senate democrats, among which include our very own Sen. Dianne Feinstein, pictured above, are beginning to urge Speaker Pelosi to allow Trump's impeachment trial to begin. While all of these Senators say they admire that Pelosi is trying to guarantee a fair trial, they argue that withholding the trial is pointless as McConnell isn't going to budge, and also places pressure on the Democratic Senators running for president with the primaries beginning soon. House Democrats are still firmly behind Pelosi's plan, but some are beginning to have their doubts. Democrats have also developed strategies in the Senate to hopefully make the trial more fair as well. Their focus lies on getting just four Republican Senators to break with McConnell, whose partisan plan is quite similar to the one Bill Clinton's 1999 trial was run on.
Questions:
1. Do you think Pelosi should pass on the articles to the Senate for trial? Why or why not?
2. Do you think this move by Democratic Senators will cause voters to label them as weak and unable to stand their ground? In other words, will letting the trial run its course benefit Democratic Senators during the primaries, or hurt them instead?
It is important to remember that Trump will not be convicted in the Senate, the democrats will not be able to get a 2/3 vote. This was known from the very beginning. Therefore, the purpose of impeachment, at least in the eyes of the democrats, was to make a good effort to enforce the rule of law against the president, and to make his alleged crimes known to the public. In other words, this is a trial of optics. I personally believe that the longer the democrats wait, the worse they will look in the eyes of the public. Therefore, she should send the articles over to the senate. On the question of looking weak, while some parts of the democratic base may think this, I don't believe that they will look bad to the general public, waiting will not get the President convicted.
ReplyDeleteI do think that Pelosi should pass on the articles to the Senate trial even though the impeachment will not pass the Senate in a 2/3 vote. Although waiting longer would give the Senate a more fair trial, the Senate being majority republicans, waiting will not really affect the outcome of the vote. I think mainly the goal for President's impeachment inquiry was to gain more public attention of Trump's supposed crimes before the next election this year. I also do not think this would label the Democratic Senators as weak because it is probable that the impeachment will not go through. I also believe that if the trial continues, it won't really affect the Democratic Senators during the primaries. However, if the House Speaker Pelosi doesn't pass the articles soon, I think they would lose the attention of the public.
ReplyDeleteIf Pelosi passes on the articles it will make her and all democrats involved look like clowns because it's near impossible for them to get majority vote with Republicans owning the majority in the Senate.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is very important that Pelosi passes on the articles to the Senate trial because it is the best attempt to guarantee a fair trial. Because of the majority Republican Senate, it would still be impossible to take party loyalty out of the trial completely. I do believe that additional witnesses will help the Senate conduct a trial less based on party partisanship and more for the good of the nation. I do not believe that voters will see the Democratic Senators as weak due to this move because the outcome of the trial is inevitable if it were to be conducting in the normal fashion. I do not believe letting the trial run its course will effect the Democratic Senators during primaries because voters already have their predisposed opinions on the impeachment.
ReplyDeleteI agree while it is great that Pelosi is trying to guarantee a fair trial, a lot of time has passed and now Pelosi should pass on the articles to the Senate. I think the longer the Democrats wait, the worse they look to the public, and because the Republicans have majority in the Senate, we assume that Trump will not be impeached either way. McConnell does not seem to be budging, and if the Democrats will look foolish if they wait too long before passing on the articles and do not get any results. In addition, it is better for the Senate Democrats, who are trying to run for president, if the articles are passed and will put a burden on their campaign if Pelsoi waits too long.
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