Love, Actually?
Nancy Pelosi made it official as she ordered the House to draft articles of impeachment (this will be a hard draft to dodge.) The Speaker argued: “This has absolutely nothing to do with politics. It isn’t about politics, partisanship, Democrats and Republicans. That’s totally insignificant. It’s about the Constitution of the United States, the oath of office we take to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. It’s about the President not honoring his oath of office.” Moments later, the politics started, as James Rosen, a reporter for Sinclair Broadcast Group asked: “Do you hate the president, Madam Speaker?” Pelosi responded: “I don’t hate anyone. I was raised in a way that is a heart full of love, and always pray for the president, and I still pray for the president. I pray for the president all the time. So, don’t mess with me when it comes to words like that.” (Editor’s note: I hate some people.) Here’s the latest from the deepening impeach pit from CNN and WaPo.
+ “The Trump campaign hasn’t run from Pelosi’s impeachment push or settled into a defensive crouch. Campaign officials instead are leaning into the impeachment threat, using it to mobilize supporters and try to extract a political price–and millions of dollars in fundraising–from the Democrats’ move. One of the single most powerful weapons in the Trump campaign’s arsenal has been Facebook, which–unlike many TV stations and newspapers–does not monitor candidates’ political ads for veracity.” Time: The Trump Campaign Has Raised Millions Off Impeachment.
+ At this point, we have a decent idea of how impeachment will play out domestically. The more interesting question is what impact the process will have on Russia’s efforts to spread conspiracy theories and divide Americans. Early signs are worrisome. Ron Brownstein in The Atlantic: Just how far will Republicans go in following President Donald Trump’s embrace of Russia? “Both congressional Republicans and conservative commentators are defending Trump from impeachment partly by accusing Ukraine of intervening against him in the 2016 presidential election—despite repeated warnings from national-security and intelligence officials that those claims are not only baseless, but advance Vladimir Putin’s goal of discrediting Ukraine.”