Thread by @SeanCasten

Because a number of folks keep asking, let’s talk about why the Democrats overwhelmingly voted to table Al Green’s motion to impeach Donald Trump. TL;DR: if you want Trump to be out of office ASAP, this was the right call, right now. Read on for the explanation…

1. Shortly after my wife and I got engaged we took a vacation to Wyoming. In the course of a horseback trip, our guide, upon learning of our upcoming nuptials, prior to offering me some advice said “I’ve been married 5 times, so I think I know a little something about women”.

2. In that vein, in my 6 years in Congress, I’ve seen 3 house impeachments (Trump 2x where I voted yes, Mayorkas 1x where I opposed). None were removed. So I think I know a little something about removing people from office…

3. What I said before Al’s resolution is still true. The short version is that impeachment innately political and doesn’t accomplish anything unless it is followed by a vote to convict in the Senate. If you don’t have the votes, you make the case… you don’t rush the vote.

https://twitter.com/repcasten/status/1933520788793000416

4. Don’t lose sight of the fact that half of the Presidential impeachments that have ever happened in our 249 year history were of Trump. Impeachment is a BFD and if we don’t take it seriously it will lose its power. And you can see that with the Mayorkas impeachment.

5. In that case, the Rs, led by Marge Green had a bogus impeachment that everyone realized was unserious and the Senate, under Schumer’s leadership appropriately said “this is not serious” and dismissed the House’s work without having a trial. As they should have.

6. So the Rs didn’t get a trial. They didn’t get the show of someone of Schiff or Raskin’s caliber leading a Senate trial. (In fairness, a Comer or MTG-led trial ain’t that, but I digress.).

7. And it’s worth noting that NO president who was impeached has been removed. Nixon left once he realized that the votes were there to impeach and convict, but the vote never happened. What had happened was nearly a year of public hearings and due process. Public will moved.

8. In 2019, I was one of the first House democrats who had flipped a R seat to call for an impeachment INQUIRY. I thought the Mueller report warranted impeachment but asked for the initiation of a process, not a rushed vote. chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/201…

9. That’s still true. And to understand that, let’s play out the alternative scenario. Suppose that we did not table Al’s resolution. Suppose further that we had the votes to pass. Would you like to see a trial in the Senate led by people selected by Speaker Johnson?

10. Or suppose that the vote to impeach was not tabled so we then vote to impeach and don’t have the votes. Do you think Trump is stronger or weaker if he can go out on the hustings and remind people that the House voted NOT to impeach him?

11. Or suppose that every member who thinks Trump isn’t fit to serve files motions to impeach without hearings, discovery and due process that keep failing. All that does is give Thune the rhetorical ability to dismiss the first one that succeeds as Schumer did with Mayorkas.

12. The bottom line: removing a President is a serious vote, that demands prior hearings to build public will and make it clear to the Senate that the House takes this responsibility more seriously than Marge does. And we don’t get multiple bites at that apple.

13. The vote to table was not because Trump is fit to serve. It’s because hearings have to come first, and they won’t happen as long as sycophantic Mike is controlling the House. Save your powder for when the adults are in charge and we can build that case. /fin