Impeachment Eve and Vote 2019
Norristown, PA, 17 December 5:10-6:45pm - It had been drizzling all
day, it was a
few days short of the Winter Solstice, so it got dark early, not
super-cold, but chilly enough to wear full winter jackets and
it was a weekday! By my count, we had over 100 people at the mid-point
of the rally. Overall, there were over
600 gathering all over the country totalling tens of thousands of
demonstrators.
Gathering was small at first around 5:15pm.
People gathered from around the country in some
pretty awful weather conditions. Had an FB friend ask about counter-protests. Nah, we had a few people
shout nasty things from passing cars and a fellow was astonished that
we'd be protesting the President to begin with. He filmed us with his
cell phone. Probably thought that would shame us. Heh, nope!
Washington DC, 18 December 8:24pm - The vote to impeach was
successful! "The House voted 230-197 to charge Trump with
abuse of power and 229-198 to charge him with obstruction of Congress."
Interestingly, Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who
has been accused of being a Russian asset, voted "Present" as
opposed to "Guilty." Is she trying to run as a spoiler third-party
candidate or is she just trying to position herself as
a centrist candidate who's between the two parties?* We'll
see, I guess.
Chanting from the protesters.
Washington DC, 18 December 9:23pm - Speaker Pelosi does
not commit to any time for transmitting the Articles of Impeachment
to the Senate. In response to Republican accusations that she's trying
to extract concessions in return for transmitting the Articles, she
claims she
just wants to see what the Senate plan for the President's trial
is. As the Senate Majority Leader has
not outlined a plan for the Senate to conduct the trial, the
Speaker has no reason to rush getting the Articles over to them.
McConnell tried to suggest, simultaneusly, that the Democratic case
against the President was weak, while at the same time, that "There’s
only one outcome that is suited to the paucity of evidence," that is,
to NOT hold a serious trial.
Denver, 19 December 12:30pm - A radio host is fired
for a truly disgusting statement. He had said that "the 'never-ending'
impeachment process makes 'you wish for a nice school shooting.'” His
firing restores my faith in humanity at least a little bit.
Somewhat relevant
to the President's impeachment, Acting Ambassador Taylor, the Ambasador
to Ukraine, was dismissed today. Reportedly so that Secretary of State
Pompeo doesn't take the chance of appearing in the same photo with
someone who is a genuine patriot.
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*Gabbard put out a statement. As a blogger suggested earlier, she appears to be seeking to position herself in the political center. Reading it, I reacted to this sentence: "I also could not in good conscience vote for impeachment because removal of a sitting President must not be the culmination of a partisan process..." 1. The Republican Minority on the Intelligence Committee had every opportunity to speak out! There was plenty of time during which they could have made a case that the President was innocent. On 26 September, Ranking Member Nunes spoke for seven minutes with no interruptions at a time when a large audience was listening. 2. The President put out a six page letter during which he told everyone what was on his mind. No, the alleged "partisan" process did not prevent Republicans from making a case for the President's innocence.
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