That's what is driving the "Blue Wave".

Conor Lamb's voters didn't want impeachment.

Doug Jones' voters didn't want impeachment.

An Arizona Congresswoman I know tells me AZ voters don't want impeachment.

Is your AZ Congresswoman a Republican?

Maybe you've heard of her; she's our candidate for the US Senate.

I'm sure SOME voters want impeachment; but MOST don't. Which is why Reid, Pelosi and others say talking about impeachment isn't the way to win Congressional campaigns. Ditto, the dozens of House candidates I've talked to around the country.

But perhaps anonymous bloggers know better.

Their record regarding successful Congressional campaigns speaks for itself.

...when we won back the House without talking about Impeachment (despite the opposition of folks here)

The blatant, in-your-face corruption of this administration is off the charts.

I live in blood-red Maricopa County, Arizona. And sorry, this "real people aren't talking or concerned about impeachment" is bullshit, plain and simple.

And thank you for the 4-1-1 on Smyrna... Any Democrat that cannot see the danger this country is in because of tRump* may not DESERVE to represent the people.

And Nancy Pelosi WAS WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. Bush*, Cheney* and their cabal of war criminals should have been made to answer for their crimes... and IMPEACHING BUSH* and CHENEY* could have been part of that answer.

So what's it going to take for you and your friends "outside of political blogs" to agree to impeach tRump*? Proof of colluding with Russia to install tRump* in office? Would that do it for you?

Point 2: Do you have proof of collusion? I was under the impression that Mueller was still investigating, but maybe you know something he doesn't.

Point 3: I have no objection to an Impeachment action IF there's proof. MY point (and Reid's and Pelosi's) is that it's not a compelling campaign message.

or in some cases just a political version of malicious vandalism?

These forums offer many tests for the first, certainly, and plenty of opportunities for the second.

Trump may be a particularly extreme example of a person who doesn't know what it is to know something, but the delusion of ignorant people that they know more than experts is actually extremely common.

Or as David Dunning (of Dunning-Kruger) explains in an article:

People want things to be different....which is not the same as impeachment.

Pushing for impeachment will stall the blue wave.

People get that.

that's not how this works.

Congress impeaches. Senate then requires 2/3s of Senators (66+) to remove.

Even if Dems take over House in November, where are you gonna find 66 votes plus to remove him?

Pelosi's right.

Duh. Impeach and then crucify any Senate Republicans who would dare vote against conviction. I think many honorable Republican and Independent voters would get behind that.

The highest vote count among the Dems running in California's 49th District (Issa's seat) might be a real indicator of voter sentiment. My summary of their ads now running in SoCal:

Sara Jacobs: "Vote for me, I'm a woman who can bring groups together to work out solutions to difficult problems."

Doug Kerr: "Vote for me, we need better healthcare and lower educational costs."

Doug Applegate: "Impeach that worthless asshole now!"

how many people think impeachment = removal.

air she breathed every day. She attended her first Democratic national convention when she was 12, attended JFK's inaugural ball while in college. By the time she left for college to study politics she already knew far more about practical aspects than her teachers. She interned in the senate with Steny Hoyer before marrying and becoming a traditional (Nancy-style) wife and mother.

Her immersion as a member of a political family on two coasts and activist in the Democrat Party continued while she raised 5 daughters while remaining active in the background. Her youngest was in high school when she finally entered public politics under her own name. She was 41 when she became chair of the California Democratic Party, 47 years old when she first ran for office herself, won and became a member of congress.

Imagine, at an age when many women are pushed out of good jobs due to sexual bigotry and are unable to replace them, she first entered the paid political workforce. That was over 30 years ago.

From there, she rose to the top, and what only closed, hostile minds can't understand is that that was no coincidence or accident. She rose because of tremendous, proven competence, recognized by her colleagues.

When Pelosi says that pushing impeachment before its time would be a gift to the GOP, angering currently demoralized pubs into turning out, only a fool wouldn't listen respectfully and think carefully about it.

Pretty much every politically aware Democrat is cognizant of it. But neither Pelosi nor Reid are infallible; they've both previously expressed trust in Congressional Republican leadership, only to get stabbed in the back.

I listened respectfully and thought carefully about it, and I believe Trump's myriad number of impeachable offenses is a gift that will fire up our base and like-minded Republicans and Independents in November. Perhaps we'll get a more accurate bead on the best political strategy in the June primaries.

I think you can do better. This has nothing to do with the Republican leadership, except as they invest in gasoline.

And you realize that that is the real difference between Republicans and Democrats. If this were president Hillary Clinton and there was this much evidence against her the repos would certainly already have impeachment hearings underway. People will never take the Democratic Party seriously until they get over this fear of short term disadvantage in favor of having guts...

Why wait?

to remove him from office and "beating" this would embolden him and his base.

Preventing his "agenda" to pass, perhaps reversing some of his bills would be a sweeter revenge.

Yet saying "it can't be done practically" is not. It's simply a realization of current empirical considerations.

Without any evidence being presented.
Nixon’s Impeachment didn’t have the votes until the days before his resignation when new and mounting evidence against him was brought forward.
For Rep Pelosi to categorically declare, again, that Impeachment is off the table, does a disservice to the voters.

I see that defeatist attitude over and over and over on this board. That's a fabulous, succinct response that is 100% true. And I can point to the Parkland students as ample contemporary proof. (And, no, they haven't accomplished all their goals yet, but BOY have they changed the landscape and gotten a number of positive wins in their corner.) Don't EVER say "we can't do that because there aren't enough votes" or "people won't buy it." You never know until you try --

But that is not the issue we need to run on. The real issues are taxes, safety nets, the environment and public lands. If we take back the house, I am sure impeachment will be on the menu, but there are real issues that affect all voters, including the trumpsters, that we can win on. Winning congress will neuter Donald for the duration of his term.

Of course Republicans will use a threat of impeachment to weaponize their base. But we can also weaponize and galvanize our own base to larger degree.

Our base is bigger than their base. This kind of cowardliness is what really harms Democrats. Because, it displays that everything is about playing political cards to gain advantages, or avoid disadvantages, as opposed to facing reality, and calling their bluff. Most Americans think he is guilty. It looks much more disingenuous to shrink back, and now even criticize the notion of holding the President accountable for those crimes. They look weak and wishywashy. My gawd have they learned nothing?

Also, what we need is to motivate the people in the middle, who are not already part of either base. I don't know whether or not talk of impeachment helps there, maybe that varies geographically. So I think it's reasonable to say talking about it may not be the best political strategy between now and November. Now, what to DO about it afterwards is a whole different conversation.

we have to be as dirty as they are to win elections, they have shown us that it works well.

From: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/08/08/how-the-watergate-crisis-eroded-public-support-for-richard-nixon/

who were ashamed of what Nixon was doing to the presidency.

Today, his "fuck you" everyone is being cheered by too many.

Of high crimes and misdemeanors DESERVE impeachment.
If Muellers investigation shows it and the democrats
Stall and dither, predict there will be hell to pay.

Can we talk about the vague possibility of impeaching trump, after the midterms? Maybe? Pretty please? Does trump ever get to be a "gift" to Democrats, or is that just too much to hope for?

I saw my first "Trump 2020" bumper sticker on a truck a couple of days ago. How about it, Ms. Minority Leader? Should we look forward to trump's charms until 20fucking24?

just as she has protected Bush.

Pelosi's goal is to get as many Dems into Congress as possible. Take majority in the House. Maybe not majority in the Senate but get as close as possible.

After November, THEN we start talking seriously about impeachment. She gets it, Mueller gets it, we'd have to be stupid if we can't see this.

She knows that the GOP will turn it against us. We have to have our candidates run on strong local issues since this was what won the special elections. She also told them to stay away from the abortion topic and I would add the 2nd amend and immigration. We should all focus on the two issues that voters in both parties want...affordable health care and REAL tax cuts for the average voter.

I think once Mueller's investigation is done then 'talk' of impeachment will be wholly appropriate if Mueller has enough to go on.
I wish we could impeach him right now but we can't.

Right now the Blue Wave is being fed by a desire for change, not by impeachment dreams. Which doesn't mean there's not some who hope for it to become a reality.

If/when there's evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors after the investigation is finished, then we talk about it. Doing so before on assumptions gives the Republicans an edge on us. They know it could drive their voters to the polls who are otherwise not enthusiastic over voting for them right now. Which is the last thing we need before midterms.

has ties to dreams of impeachment.

I DO know this:

Americans want good government. They're not getting it. THAT's the change they want. They are horrified and frantic about Trump & his rowdy friends in Congress and even more so in his cabinet.

They're not flocking to the Dems when they have a chance to vote for any other reason than to put a rein on Trump. It's certainly not our policies or our good looks that are creating this wave. They see democracy threatened, and that's why they've mobilized.

ETA: I'll add that the circumstantial evidence alone ought to be enough to bury Trump. In a sane world, it would. His dereliction of duty alone. On and on and on.

I know what's real and what's not here. I know what polls and what doesn't. That's a fact, but it's all I know. My local politics, I mean.

I'm not playing a game here. I want to win desperately. To me a majority is the end game.

The harm to so many innocents is unconscionable!

...are mutually exclusive?

let's put it back in the cellar with our 7 tons of dry powder.

Talk now would not be productive.....but if it comes to it a year from now... Hell no.

to rid washington of cheetoz anyway...why worry about it?
I think its a good mix of voter attitude..the rad left considers
rump to be just a step above treason and should get the
rope..while the mods..same ones that cried to the free
republic dudes how sorry that obama won, and then
were promptly kicked off. Remember that well.

I feel she's right!! We really need to wait this out! After the midterms our chances are better, and also who knows what other evidence RUMP will give us in the time frame up to midterm. Also we gotta know what Mueller advises Congress! Hell he MAY indict RUMP himself, WE don't know for sure what will come of his investigation. I want him IMPEACHED BUT I do want to succeed to!!!! Hell his head would swell 100 times over if he wins this!! Just my 2 cents worth here

Dems have been grabbing Repub seats and the goal to actually Impeaching Trump successfully can ONLY be done after this election 2018, when we have the votes to do so.

She is absolutely correct.

As of now, there have been articles of Impeachment introduced with the bill n9t even making it to the floor.
November is the ONLY shot we have at removing the power that keeps Trump protected,.

Impeachment is only possible after the groundwork is done & the votes have been counted in November.

Pretty much a futile effort until then.

Pelosi is correct as usual.

Link to tweet

All politics is local. That's a fact and it's not new. Yet, still, people want to apply their personal emotions instead of logic when things come up they disagree with.

SSDD. We will never learn apparently.

they will lose.

Trump is mentally unstable and will most likely be charged with crimes. Not talking impeachment is living in a make believe world.