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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHarvard Law Prof Laurence Tribe Warns Dems Pushing Trump Impeachment: 'You Have to Shoot to Kill'
by Aidan McLaughlin | 9:00 am, May 22nd, 2018
Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe appeared on CNNs New Day to discuss his new book, To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment, and the #Resistance Twitter influencer warned Democrats against throwing down the impeachment card too hastily.
CNNs Chris Cuomo noted that Tribes book comes with a note of political caution, that Democrats shouldnt be rushing down the road of impeachment.
Tribe explained that the impeachment is not about garden variety crime, but abusing the authority that we give to high officials like the president. The professor went on to give examples of offenses that Trump could commit that would not constitute crimes, but would be impeachable, including failing to protect the country in favor of enriching himself personally.
But it will be available only if we dont use it loosely, and ring the bell every time something looks amiss, Tribe said. You cant be the boy who cried wolf and have a viable impeachment power. You cant use it over and over again against the same president.
If youre going to shoot him, you have to shoot to kill, Tribe said. And that requires an overwhelming majority of a bipartisan kind. Otherwise youre just going to nick the guy, and make him feel empowered and vindicated.
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https://www.mediaite.com/tv/harvard-law-professor-laurence-tribe-warns-dems-pushing-trump-impeachment-you-have-to-shoot-to-kill/
Watch video at link above, via CNN.
manor321
(3,344 posts)He needs to study history. Republicans missed with Clinton, and then won the Presidency in 2000.
H2O Man
(73,561 posts)(1) Anyone vaguely familiar with Tribe knows, without any question, that he is fully aware of the Clinton impeachment and the 2000 election;
(2) The 2000 election was decided by the US Supreme Court, not the voting public.
Orsino
(37,428 posts)Those of us insisting that Dems all call for impeachment now are jumping the gun, no matter how badly Trumpish policy is fucking up the world. There are only a few Constitutional remedies left, and if they are going to work, they have to be done right.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)congresspeople who have mentioned impeachment - why is CNN pretending it's an all out fight for it in the party? Every single race in the midterms is a local race, donnie is not on the ballot and it would be a mistake to pretend he is. Tie the cons to him if they do it themselves but keep it on the issues that matter to those particular constituents.
Exotica
(1,461 posts)Sponsor: Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (Introduced 11/15/2017)
Cosponsor Date Cosponsored
Rep. Gutierrez, Luis V. [D-IL-4]* 11/15/2017
Rep. Yarmuth, John A. [D-KY-3]* 11/15/2017
Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9]* 11/15/2017
Rep. Fudge, Marcia L. [D-OH-11]* 11/15/2017
Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13]* 11/15/2017
Rep. Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ-3] 12/04/2017
Rep. Shea-Porter, Carol [D-NH-1] 12/06/2017
Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7] 12/19/2017
Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] 01/29/2018
Rep. Lee, Barbara [D-CA-13] 02/02/2018
Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] 02/08/2018
Rep. Lewis, John [D-GA-5] 02/08/2018
Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2] 02/15/2018
Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-11] 02/27/2018
Rep. Capuano, Michael E. [D-MA-7] 02/27/2018
Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] 03/15/2018
and
a second privileged resolution on articles of impeachment, H.Res. 646, sponsored by Representative Al Green, Democrat of Texas
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-resolution/646
58 Democrats voted to NOT table it
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2017/roll658.xml
---- NAYS 58 ---
Adams
Barragán
Bass
Beatty
Brady (PA)
Capuano
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Clyburn
Cohen
Davis, Danny
DeSaulnier
Doggett
Ellison
Engel
Espaillat
Evans
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Gomez
Green, Al
Grijalva
Hastings
Higgins (NY)
Huffman
Jackson Lee
Jayapal
Kelly (IL)
Lawrence
Lee
Lewis (GA)
Lieu, Ted
McCollum
McGovern
McNerney
Moore
Moulton
Napolitano
Norcross
Pallone
Pascrell
Pingree
Polis
Raskin
Richmond
Rush
Schakowsky
Sherman
Slaughter
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Vargas
Vela
Walz
Waters, Maxine
Watson Coleman
Wilson (FL)
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)Procedural nonsense that nobody cares about. How many are RUNNING on impeachment and not local issues?
Exotica
(1,461 posts)to said only 2 had even mentioned it.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)only 2 are talking about it. And that's how it should be. NOBODY should be talking about it until the investigation is complete. I would have to hold my nose to vote for anyone stupid enough to run on it.
Exotica
(1,461 posts)I think local matters are usually what wins as well.
Mc Mike
(9,114 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)in Tribe's own days of supporting impeachment it was always understood it's done for proper cause and with sufficient support from the people. Not one party or the other, the people.
I just wonder that a man of his stature and background was so late to realizing how dangerous to our democracy one-sided calls for impeachment could be, but I'm guessing Fox New's calls for Republicans to march on Washington DC helped.
Good. With our angry, divided and confused electorate, an unsupported impeachment effort could cost the Democratic Party the house and senate in November and in 2020 the presidency, the house, the senate and the supreme court, as well as many (hugely important) state governments.
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)they impeached Clinton for lying.
It would be unconscionable for this jackass to commit all these 'high crimes and misdemeanors' and get away with it branding it all as a Democratic plot in response to losing an election.
The very least we can do is impeach his ass! Then let's see how he holds up in a Senate trial.
dalton99a
(81,526 posts)If his perfidy and corruption doesn't qualify for impeachment, what does?
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)dalton99a
(81,526 posts)Gothmog
(145,345 posts)gratuitous
(82,849 posts)And while it's too early to hold a vote on articles of impeachment,* it's definitely not too early to be preparing the ground and planting the seeds for it. Right up until the day he announced he was going to resign, Nixon continued to enjoy a certain level of popularity among his most fervent supporters. To this day, there are people walking around absolutely convinced that Nixon was unfairly hounded from office.
All that is to say that you do get just one shot at it, and impeachment is as much about political and public sentiment as it is about legal considerations of right and wrong. Even with his abysmal poll numbers, Trump is too popular and Congress is currently too supine for the process to result in impeachment and removal from office. We have a lot of work to do in the direction of rallying public opinion. Right now is the time to importune our fellow citizens: How does Trump's abuse of power and obstruction of justice look in any way legal to you? Is his incredible corruption and self-dealing really how a President should be conducting the nation's affairs? Once we have large segments of the populace on board, we can proceed to pressuring Congress. But it's going to take months, at least, because Republicans have the numbers right now, and their own party broadcasting network pimping their line 24-7.
*What? Nobody's drawn those up yet? What's the hubbub about, then?