NOTE: Every American needs to remember that just three weeks ago, Mitch McConnell said he was "fine" with not getting the articles, and *less than a week ago* he said he "couldn't start a trial" without the articles. This is about Donald Trump being frantic and terrified, period.
FURTHER: Articles of impeachment can't be dismissed before they're transmitted. Mind you, for as long as the GOP is in power McConnell certainly *can* keep the Senate from having a trial on the articles by a vote like this. But if the Democrats take the Senate, a trial can occur.
THUS: As a matter of law, journalists should be covering this rule change as a vote to never consider the most serious allegations ever made against a U.S. president unless or until the party he doesn't belong to controls the Senate. But this is *not* a dismissal of the articles.
PLUS: A vote to dismiss (that is, fake-dismiss) the most serious allegations ever made against a president is *political suicide* for any Republican facing a tight reelection. McConnell's dooming some of his members here, and he's doing it at the barrel of a gun Trump is holding.
CONCLUSION: A win for Pelosi, as only a sham trial in the Senate was in the offing. This way, either Trump/McConnell lose this vote or they win it and their endangered members have this as an albatross in November. Then, if Democrats retake the senate, the trial happens *anyway*.
