A newsy ☀️ @PunchbowlNews laying out our reporting from the Capitol on the Democrats strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
Strengths: House Ds clearly have the better arguments. All the jurors lived through the Jan. 6 attack. The American public saw it.
@PunchbowlNews They saw Trump claiming for months that the election was stolen from him and his supporters. They saw the president of the United States suggest that his supporters should go to the Capitol.
Then they saw those protestors smash their way into the Capitol. The Democrats’ claim is all pretty clear cut. We also saw on Tuesday that the former president’s defense team is … lackluster to say the least. So Rep. Jamie Raskin’s (D-Md.) squad has the advantage here.
Weaknesses: Well this is obvious too. The impeachment managers’ primary weakness is that they’re trying to convince a Senate Republican Conference that is largely unwilling to be convinced that Trump is guilty.
They can lay out the case in a compelling way, tell the story in the most elegant fashion, show hours of video evidence, and yet there’s virtually zero chance that 17 Senate Republicans vote with them.
Opportunities: If you’re an optimist and you look closely enough, squinting your eyes while you do, perhaps you can find a speck of hope here for Team Raskin.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) was so moved by the Democrats’ argument Tuesday over the constitutionality of their cause that he switched his vote and backed a motion to proceed with the trial. That’s a big deal in a party where even a vote stating the most obvious is controversial.
Is there a scenario in which Democrats flip even more GOP senators to convict Trump? Sure. There’s also a scenario that this email will change your life. But neither of those things seem hopeful or likely. At least not the ‘GOP senators vote to convict Trump’ part.
Threats: When you can’t win, in a sense, you really can’t lose either. And that’s the dynamic for the House Democratic impeachment managers. There’s no real downside here; no one expects them to win anyway.
So their mission is to do their best, make sure the American public and fellow Democrats witness it, and then pray for a good outcome.
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Here’s a challenge: Make the argument that Donald Trump had nothing to do with the riot at the Capitol after the first few days of the impeachment trial.
@PunchbowlNews It’s damn tough.
The Democratic impeachment managers did something Wednesday that desperately needed to be done: They laid out in a thorough, comprehensive and digestible manner what Trump said and did in the months and days leading up to the bloody Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
@PunchbowlNews They covered all aspects of Trump’s shocking behavior -- his provocative tweets, TV interviews and speeches claiming the election was being stolen; his months-long campaign to undermine the American public’s faith in the election results;
We spoke for a bit last night with Steve Ricchetti, counselor to President Biden, and one of the most powerful people in the White House
He laid out in detail what Biden sees as must haves in his agenda and the future
@PunchbowlNews —> Must haves in Covid relief: “The checks and the direct assistance, you know the the additional $1,400 in the checks is vitally important and was really certainly at the top of the list for us in terms of what we think is important and was a campaign commitment."
Richetti on UI: "The extension of … unemployment insurance is really, really … important.”
→ 10 Rs wrote a letter to @JoeBiden proposing a pared back Covid relief bill. Ds spent all day dismissing it as half baked and as evidence Rs were not serious.
@JoeBiden@SenatorCollins@AOC@SpeakerPelosi → As Biden huddles with Collins and Co., Democrats have to figure out how to pass a budget and assemble a Covid-relief package. They have to thread the needle between the two poles in their caucus: @SenSanders and @Sen_JoeManchin.
The politics of the r letter, as we laid out in @PunchbowlNews special edition this am
→ The Senate GOP letter comes as Democratic leaders on the hill # are preparing to move forward this week on Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid relief package -- with or without Republican support.
Red state Democrat Sen. Jon Tester (Mont.) said this on CNN’s Inside Politics Sunday morning: “I don't think $1.9 trillion, even though it is a boatload of money, is too much money. I think now is not the time to starve the economy.”
→ It shows the political scramble around Covid relief now that Biden is in the Oval Office. Many of these GOP senators are in the Senate Sweet 16™ group. But this proposal is Republican only.
We can’t speak for every R or D in the Sweet 16™, but we can say this without a doubt: There’s frustration on the R side that @JoeBiden, @SenSchumer (N.Y.) & Ds appear headed toward taking a one-party approach to Covid relief
Dems controlled all of govt. it took them forever to pass obamacare bc they first waited for Rs to support. then they squirmed
They later regretted doing too little too late. unemployment went to 10%. they lost the majority
Fast-forward to today. Democrats control the White House and Congress again. A new Democratic president faces multiple crises, including a pandemic and severe economic downturn. The federal government has spent trillions of dollars to try to prop up the sputtering economy
Dems want another $1.9 trillion for Covid relief. Some Rs are suggesting they will cooperate -- just like they did in 2009 -- but this time, Democrats say they won’t go halfway or wait to see if Republicans join their efforts.