Donald Trump has committed enough impeachable offenses to remove 10 presidents from office. Yet Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, does not want to start formal impeachment proceedings. We’ve all heard her reasoning: (1) The public doesn’t want it; (2) He’ll never be impeached anyway; (3) It turns Trump into a victim; and (4) It will badly tear apart an already divided country.
Yet I’m more than a little skeptical about Madam Speaker’s song and dance. I believe the real reason Pelosi is against formal impeachment proceedings is that she wants Donald Trump to be the Republican presidential candidate in 2020.
If Trump were to be removed from office (a very big “if” considering Trump’s nearly unanimous support among Senate Republicans) we would end up with a President Mike Pence. Come convention time late next year, it is very unlikely Republicans would want Pence as their party’s presidential candidate. It is more likely they would go with a Romney, a Kasich or some other “moderate” Republican who would throw his/her hat into the ring. In other words, there just might be a more formidable opponent for the Democratic nominee.
Forget the myth that Trump would be a strong candidate for reelection. If Trump remains in office, after another year of Congressional (and state) investigations uncovering even more dirt, he would be a wounded duck going into the 2020 contest. This is exactly what Pelosi wants.
Proof that Trump is already in trouble, and not as daunting as some would like you to believe, comes via the most recent Quinnipiac University poll showing, if the election were held today, Trump fares badly against the top Democratic presidential hopefuls:
Former VP Joe Biden over Trump 53 – 40 percent
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders over Trump 51 – 42 percent
California Sen. Kamala Harris over Trump 49 – 41 percent
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren over Trump 49 – 42 percent
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg over Trump 47 – 42 percent
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker over Trump 47 – 42 percent
Trump never rises above 42% against any of the Democratic contenders in this national survey. Buttigieg and Booker besting Trump?
OK, while this poll is encouraging for Democrats, it’s very early in the game. And let’s not forget there is a thing called the Electoral College to contend with, along with voter suppression, hacked voting machines, foreign interference, voter fraud and other factors that could impact the 2020 election.
Yet, if I’m right, Nancy Pelosi is giving many reasons why not to impeach Trump … except the real one.
Photo | cnn.com
Also she knows the longer he stays in office, the more he will hang himself with this own rope. But at what cost to the country Madam Speaker?
Therein lies the rub, Robert.