Sad! It’s one of Donald Trump’s classic twitter sign offs and a perfect headline for this day. It’s a sad day because it’s come to this. And it’s a sad day because it’s clear this won’t be enough to stop the damage. This is a historic day at a moment when a huge swath of the country no longer believes in history; a rare day when truth wins out in an era when truth itself is on the ropes. After showing remarkable restraint and enduring a relentless attack on American institutions, the separation of powers, and the norms associated with human decency, the House was confronted with an impeachable offense so obvious and egregious they had to finally check this president and stick it to Teflon Don. It’s the third time a president has been impeached and quite possibly the first time Trump has ever been told “No.” As a candidate, Trump famously said, “I alone can fix it.” What’s clear from the impeachment testimony and the wanton partisan reaction to this crime in progress is that Trump is anything but alone. His actions have been aided and abetted, at every step, by accomplices and enablers. So yes, it’s a sad day. But also one when we should be grateful for Americans like Alexander Vindman, Fiona Hill, and Marie Yovanovitch, who had the courage to speak the truth, and who, more importantly, have been willing to sacrifice and serve their country at time when doing so is particularly thankless. With the vote imminent, here’s one last visit to the impeach pit from CNN and WaPo.

+ Nancy Pelosi: “I solemnly and sadly open the debate on the impeachment of the president of the United States. If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty. It is tragic that the president’s reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice.” Meanwhile, Rep Chris Stewart of Utah summarizes the GOP defense: “It has nothing to do with abuse of power. It has nothing to do with obstruction of Congress. This vote, this day, is about one thing and one thing only: They hate this president. They think we’re stupid. They think we made a mistake. They think Hillary Clinton should be the president, and they want to fix that. That’s what this vote is.” (Editor’s note: Nope.)

+ White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham: “The President will be working all day. He will be briefed by staff throughout that day, and could catch some of the proceedings between meetings.” (Editor’s note: This is what we hate.)

+ Scheduling Note: I’ll be traveling and placing my thoughts elsewhere from December 20 through the first of the year. So delivery will be sporadic.