Thread by @mattsheffield

Two things to keep in mind as the #impeachment trial begins:

1) McConnell could have tried Trump while he was president but refused

2) GOPers who want to dismiss never say what punishment Trump should receive. Therefore they likely want no punishment for his sedition.

The first one is a very typical McConnell ploy BTW. Manipulate the process in order to make a procedural argument to avoid forcing GOP to cast a moral vote.

Unfortunately, both Schumer and Pelosi played right into this strategy. McConnell has run circles around them for years.

The entire posture of elite GOPersis evident here. They know that Trump & others are dangerous extremists but because they're useful, McConnell et al will choose to enable them to preserve power.

It has the added advantage that process debates turn off the public which they want

Democratic leaders haven't realized that cynicism is conservatism's most powerful weapon.

Their views are opposed by most Americans but if they can discourage enough ppl, their minoritarian view can still win at the ballot box (especially w/voter exclusion rules).

Conservatives also have for decades have manipulated the policy-phobic centrist impulses of national media as well.

Since reporters want "bipartisanship," by making extreme rw demands at the start, when conservative policies like Obamacare are enacted, it seems like "centrism."

The entire debate about the filibuster is another example of how the right has skewed debates. The GOP has removed it entirely for things it cares about: taxes, undoing regulations, & judges.

It's only in place for things Dems want but somehow it's "unfair" for Dems to kill it.

Another huge factor in why more progressive policies aren't enacted is that right wing advocacy has skewed Democratic pols' perceptions of what voters want.

They think public is more conservative than it really is scholars.org/contribution/p…

Conservative elites have basically given up trying to enact their agenda democratically but it hasn't mattered bc liberal elites haven't figured out the plan. Blocking progressive policies makes Dem voters disengaged which enables GOP minority rule. /end

PS: I knew McConnell was going to do this with impeachment, I called it on January 12:

https://twitter.com/mattsheffield/status/1349115051592962049?s=20