It's time to call everyone's bluff about threatening impeachments.
The opposition on the judiciary committee already had all the time they needed to investigate this. They have passed off the lie that they're being robbed of critical time. 1/
The opposition on the judiciary committee already had all the time they needed to investigate this. They have passed off the lie that they're being robbed of critical time. 1/
They spent that time themselves. They could have started all this two months ago, and Feinstein had numerous avenues to pursue this while respecting Ford's confidences. They actually did have the needed time, already, and they cynically spent it on a political game. 2/
We must start holding politicans accountable for this kind of gamesmanship. The stakes in this case are not just politics as usual, and the potential harm from further delay is not just nothing, and here's why: 3/
This risks setting the precedent that any citizen can have effective veto over a constitutional process simply by bringing forward an accusation, with no standard of evidence beyond their own word. 4/
It would be different if the eleventh hour nature were genuine and if there were corroborating evidence. But we are countenancing setting a precedent for popular derailment of constitutional process, based on contrivances and manufactured emergency 5/
I am not saying that accusations should not be taken seriously, but the opposition is acting as if the cost of further investigation were nothing, and that is not the case. 6/
And here's where I finally get to my click baity lede about impeachment: there is still ABUNDANT time to investigate without rewarding bad faith and setting a tremendously disruptive precedent. I am off the feeling that the taboo against impeachment has become destructive. 7/
The politicans talk about the damage that impeachment can do to the country and they don't want the nation to go though the ordeal. But that expressed concern doesn't align with what the actual incentives are for people in office. 8/
What I believe is that they really, really do not want to spend their political capital that way. They are afraid of how it will make them look. This makes it actually unlikely that they will pursue actual impeachment until they think they can make the case. 9/
But if they do care more about the country and the truth than about themselves, they will be willing to sacrifice their own standing. It is politically difficult to impeach, and that is a good thing as a test either for sincerity of cause, or strength of evidence. 10/
The presentation that NOW is the only chance to stop a sexual abuser from being on the Supreme Court is pretense. The time isn't there now because they gambled it on a political calculation, not a sincere effort at uncovering truth. 11/
If Kavanaugh is confirmed, they still have all the time in the world to conduct whatever investigation they would like. It need not be a public spectacle like the Starr investigations, though unfortunately I think that is likely. 12/
Nevertheless, it is presented as though impeachments are simply intolerable and do inestimable damage to the country. I do not think that's just nothing, but in my estimation the balance is too far away from impeachments. 13/
Many people will tell you that being able to fire teachers too freely would be detrimental to children's educations; but keeping bad teachers on often results from this mindset, which definitely harms children. 14/
I believe we now indulge a harmful degree of reluctance to dismiss bad actors generally. I also believe that seriously raising impeachment proceedings is so risky politically that we are not likely to simply start a flood of spurious impeachments. 15/
I think the principle risks of confirming Kavanaugh now, at the end of an already lengthy and full process (but for deliberate games), are not risks to the country, but political risks for his opponents, and ideological risks for those who don't like him. 16/
If there is actual evidence against him, there will be enough attention on him, and enough lingering sting to his opponents in the Senate, that it will come out. If it makes it clear he should not be on the Court, there is an actual CONSTITUTIONAL way to remove him! /17
His opponents have reason to make it look like this is the only chance, but they are presenting raw self interest as the interests of the country. Call their bluff. Let them get the natural results of the way they've chosen to spend their time and their political resources. /18
In the mean time, let's not continue a pattern of seeking remedies outside the Constitution itself when the Constitution already provides a remedy (and it's just that politicans present the remedy as intolerable just because it costs them points politically). 19/
De facto veto of the Senate's constitutional prerohatives by a private citizen without any evidence beyond their own word would further erode respect for the Constitution. Cracking away at the taboo against against impeachment would restore some of the balance we've lost to 20/
populist remedies and mob urgency, stirred up by demagogues. We are losing faith in Constitutional remedies partly because we're not employing them, yet we think we are. Give the lie to politicians claims that their only interests are those of the country. /21
Hold Kavanaugh's opposition to account and let them bear the costs of choosing games and cynical tactics over good faith. The cost to us as a country Will not likely be what they are presenting to us, and could even restore some respect of due process. /end
@threadreaderapp unroll, please
