Yeah, that little old thing.
I am kind of shocked and surprised that absolutely NO ONE here that I have seen brings this up. Which is not to say someone hasn’t, but which is to say I’m here every day, and I read more than I comment, but I haven’t seen a diary or a front pager take this issue on.
Some here seem to think that we “own” the house. Well, yes, we do have a majority. But just to clarify, here are the numbers: 235 democrats, 198 republicans. Yeah, I bet it surprises many how many republicans remain in the house.
And how many of those republicans do you think will vote to impeach? Which means Pelosi needs at LEAST 199 Democratic house members to agree on impeachment.
Currently from what I’ve heard on Thom Hartman’s show, from two different Democratic house reps there are only 60 in the house as of now who are committed to impeachment, out loud. Both of these reps have said in “read between the lines” ways, we are not sure we have the votes.
This is why It’s important to bring this up. Has anyone here considered the idea that Pelosi simply doesn’t think she has the votes right now to pull this off?!?!
It’s one thing to accept that we will never get the senate to agree on impeachment, but it’s another thing all together to contemplate putting this up for a vote in the house and loosing that vote. That would be disastrous.
Now, I am as pissed off, angry and up in arms as any progressive/liberal person here. And yes, I want Pelosi to initiate the articles of impeachment, or at least, an impeachment inquiry. Here’s something I don’t know, but some of you may. Does it take a house vote to initiate an impeachment inquiry?
It is true that Pelosi is one heck of a whip when she decides to be. But, I think it is important that we look at the numbers to understand what we’re asking her to whip.
And yes, I am aggravated beyond belief, frankly, that more democrats are not making this easier for her by saying, you bet, you’ve got my vote Madam. But, they ARE NOT.
When and if the power of our majority decides to speak up to the point that Pelosi cannot say no, I guaran-freaking-t you that impeachment hearings will happen in a blink of an eye.
This is something no one wants to talk about or admit. We might not have the votes, or even close to it. And what can Pelosi do about that? Can she say, “hey folks, we don’t have the votes to make this happen?” No, she does not want to say that, for obvious reasons.
As far as I can see, it’s not just republicans who are reluctant to impeach, it is Democrats too. Why, I don’t know, and it makes me crazy. But I repeat, IF Nancy’s house majority could promise her they’d back her up in numbers that she could count on, I DO believe the articles of impeachment would start and fast.