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You all may have noticed that Washington D.C. since late last week, has been rocked by #Whistleblowergate. If you haven’t been following me long and wonder what my feelings are, the above graphic might provide a hint. You may be surprised that until now I actually have been resistant to calls for impeachment. Although I personally think the Mueller Report provided ample evidence of obstruction of justice, for me it wasn’t worth tearing this country further apart. Now however, things have changed. As evidenced from the summary of Mr. Trump’s phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, it’s obvious that he was dangling the release of foreign aid in return for reopening the investigation into Joe Biden and his son. This. Is. Not Normal. You do not extort a foreign government’s aid in digging up dirt on a potential presidential rival. And it’s obvious that officials who were privy to the conversation know this as well given how hard they’ve worked to cover it up. In my humble opinion, Nancy Pelosi had no option but to start an impeachment inquiry. But don’t take my word for it. If you haven’t already, please read the rough transcript and the whistleblower’s complaint.
Transcript:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/25/politics/donald-trump-ukraine-transcript-call/index.html
Whistleblower Complaint: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/26/us/politics/whistle-blower-complaint.html
By Hook Or By Book 
I have kept up on this, but I doubt they will manage to impeach him. And if the Democrats choose Biden to oppose him, I fear he will win another term
Sorry, Kim.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I believe the House has enough votes to impeach him, however then it goes to the Senate who will have a trial and he’ll undoubtedly be acquitted.
As far as Biden goes, he was never my first choice for a democratic candidate. However, these accusations against him and his son have already been investigated and NOTHING was found.
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Trump behaves like a mob boss…and those who enable him are just a culpable. My hope is that people will wake up and vote him out no matter who is the Dem. Candidate.
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Yes he does. He even demanded during a speech he was giving this morning, the identity of the whistleblower and the officials who spoke with them. And then he commented on how treasonous spies used to be treated. Who the heck does that?!
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I think this is a big mistake for the Dems. I think they are going to lose big.
Just my two cents💜
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Your two cents are always welcome my friend. Pelosi was dragging her heels about impeachment for a reason. However, after reading the rough draft and the complaint, I honestly don’t think she had a choice. Can you imagine if Obama had done something similar? In my opinion this is just wrong on so many levels.
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I think it’s because she knows its not what the country wants. I think she was getting too much pressure
From the radical left . She knows it’s going to hurt them.
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I think the majority of the public never wanted this. However, when you have the president extorting another country’s leader to dig to reopen an old investigation into into someone who possibly may be the opposing party’s candidate in the upcoming election, that’s unethical and for me quite possibly falls under “high crimes and misdemeanors.” And the ensuing coverup is equally abhorrent. This should be a partisan issue. I would be equally appalled if a Democratic president was caught doing this. (Have I mentioned I’m an Independent?) I know this phrase has been used repeatedly over the last few days, but no one is above the law. Not even the president.
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I think it’s because she knows its not what the country wants.
With respect, I think this is absolute and complete tosh, a falsehood promulgated by the Murdoch end of the “news” media. I’ve seen polls galore that say Americans think criminality and treason by this president merit impeachment.
Even if it were true, how would you recommend the Democrats react? Would you say that, for example, the cops should ignore the activities of a criminal for pragmatic reasons? “Say, going after Epstein might make us unpopular, hang the pedophile aspect”? Well, feel free to live in that little universe. It’s the duty of the House and Senate, whatever parties their members might belong to, to go after wrongdoing. The fact that the representatives of the GOP-GP choose not to do this is a reflection upon them rather than upon any center-ground that US politics might aspire to.
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I do think Pelosi has been putting this off John, and until now I agreed with that decision. Despite what to many of us was a clear cut case of obstruction of justice from the Mueller Report, there wasn’t enough fire to go with the smoke, if that makes sense? Now however, you have a glaring case of the president bribing/extorting another country’s leader into reopening a long dead investigation into a potential political opponent. No, he didn’t actually come out and say “You’re not going to get this aid unless you dig up dirt on Joe Biden,” but seriously? He did everything but that. And for his minions to take such pains to move the transcript to a server reserved for top secret classified communications? Well that says to me that they knew how bad this was.
But to your main point, there comes a time where you need to stand up for what’s right, no matter the cost, and by opening this impeachment inquiry, that’s what Pelosi has done. I have a feeling that as the inquiry progresses, even more will come out.
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My thoughts on the matter roughly match yours: although I thought the Mueller Report gave more than enough grounds for impeachment (and even imprisonment!) I could understand the reasons for Pelosi’s caution. At the same time I was greatly concerned about the precedent she was setting: how badly might future presidents of whatever party feel free to behave? So I kinda sat on the fence. But now, as you say, she’s really been left with no choice.
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What he did and the cover-up simply can’t be ignored. As you said it would be setting a dangerous precedent.
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You say, with respect and then tell me
Well, feel free to live in that little universe.
This is exactly why I dont usually comment on political posts. You all think if someone doesnt
Think exactly like you, it’s bad. Feel free to live in that little universe yourself.
I’m out…….
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I’m so sorry Susan. There’s frustration and anger on both sides and sometimes, especially when we’re not all face to face, it’s even worse. You obviously know by now that I don’t like Trump and most of the things he’s done. That said, I will never tell someone else that they should feel or think the same as me. I welcome debate whether it’s a political or social issue, and I’m sorry a comment made you feel as though your opinion isn’t respected.
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I agree with the impeachment of President Trump, the time has come to charge him for (alleged) crimes committed, bribary for information is a step too far even for Trump.
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It’s going to be interesting to see what the inquiry digs up. I have a feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg.
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As a side note, Trump was a TV celebrity before politics as was Boris Johnson, both are popular with the public so I guess the answer is Democrats have to find a charismatic TV reality star and then perhaps they’ll win.
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God help us all if it’s come to that!🤦🏻♀️
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I will try to be brief: the argument AGAINST an impeachment is that the Senate is controlled by Republicans, so no matter what is revealed, the impeachment will fail – AND the failure could harm the Democratic candidate against Trump in 2020. Understood. But for anyone who take even ONE MINUTE to look at what happened – The American President dangled foreign aid to another country in exchange for making up “dirt” on Joe Biden and his son. Even the Wall Street Journal, a year ago, exonerated the Bidens, and Ukraine’s lead Prosecutor said NOTHING was ever unearthed. Trump is breaking laws with such regularity that we have become numb to it – and Congress must act.
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Thank You John. That’s it in a nutshell. No matter what happens this needs to be acted upon. Mr. Trump CANNOT be allowed to use his office to bribe or extort other nations.I have a feeling there’s even more that’s been covered up.
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And it’s ALWAYS the cover up – look, I believed that beating him soundly in 2020 was the best way to rid us of this parasite…but he must be confronted or he will do things to steal the election….buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride…
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Exactly Joh. You’d think people would have learned that history lesson by now.
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I veg to differ. This country has never been “united”. Until it deals rationally with the sins of its past it will never be united. Believing that the country has somehow become divided I only in the past few years is a luxury only afforded to those who have never been marginalized by it.
What I’m saying is “we” would love to be united, instead of being treated as second class citizens and constantly being pushed out of the mainstream by homophobic and racialized rhetoric.
trump isn’t divisive. He didn’t do the dividing. He is a symptom of the division. Getting rid of him is only step one in “uniting” the country.
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I realize that Trump is in part a result of things like racism, homophobia, and anti-semitism that has simmered under the country’s history, and I’ve discussed that in previous posts. In this instance I’m talking about the division between people who voted for him and those who didn’t.
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I just want it to end at this point! Whether they deservedly impeach him or not I do think he loses in 2020. That being said I’m a political cynic I don’t know if anything can heal the divides at least not on our national political stage.
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I hope he loses because I shudder to think what state we’ll be in if he’s re-elected. That said, his ascension has dragged out the ugly hatred and bitterness that’s been simmering in this country for a very long time, and that I’m afraid isn’t going away any time soon.
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We’re in a parallel situation here, the enormity of it all blows my brain.
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It’s unbelievable!🤯
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I don’t want to be partisan here, but the whole democracy-collapsing-into-shambles thing does seem to be a conservative/rightwing feature — at least right now. It’s not just the US and UK but countries like Turkey, Russia and Hungary. Add others to the list as you will!
Yes, you have left-governed countries that are likewise heading toward hellhole status, like Venezuela, but they weren’t democracies to begin with.
A lot of this mess is due to Rupert Murdoch, whose sustained assault upon the survival of the human species, through not just his promotion of neofascist populists but his denial of climate science, has very probably doomed us. Good old Rupe, eh?
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The rise of right-wing nationalism in so many countries is what scares me the most.
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Ditto.
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Can’t disagree with that, I can’t say in print what I think of him.
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Ditto. At least, not on someone else’s blog. 🙂
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😀
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😁
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Thanks for posting this, I hadn’t yet read everything and usually bury my head and just try to live my life without expressing my opinion outside my own family. I work for a US News organization and while I am not in the news department but in sales, you put a wall up and ignore whats happening because a TV is in your face all day and expressing an opinion is forbidden.
However, in this case, I don’t think anyone can read that transcript and not say that Trump wasn’t trying to influence and hold hostage money that could help that country in order to further his own agenda in getting rid of his biggest rival for the 2020 election. I have dreamed of the day when honor and humanity means something again in our country. Healing will begin with his absence from the oval office. This is a good start and his being impeached may help him be beat. He will not get voted out though. Sometimes the biggest hardships are the basis for big change. We are due, that’s for sure!
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To me, this was extortion, plain and simple. And then the attempted cover-up makes things even worse. I honestly don’t understand how the Republicans who are defending him can look at themselves in the mirror. Say if you must, I’m not making any statements until we get more information. That I understand. But to come up with pathetic excuses, denials, and attempt to turn it back around on Biden is cowardly.
I don’t think there’s a chance that the Senate will vote to remove him if he’s impeached, but maybe what’s uncovered in the inquiry will convince voters who are torn that Trump is dangerous and this country deserves better.
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That’s my hope too.
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this country deserves better.
Precisely.
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I kind of want to see him lose in a landslide. But I also feel like Pelsoi had to do this. I think it’s why a lot of Democrats voted for this way and voted for her. It’s not so much pressure from a “radical” side. It’s more that he keeps getting caught out using foreign help to rort the systems and keeps getting away with it. Yet, Clinton, was impeached because he had a consensual romantic relationship and lied about. Which one is honestly worst? I have no idea what this will do for the Democrats. It probably wont get in for a vote, but I would hope it would show the people that they (the Democrats) do what they were voted in for. I think that’s the important part. That the Democrats prove that they will do what the people voted them in for.
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I haven’t been a huge fan of Nancy Pelosi, but in the last 48 hours she’s earned my respect. The Republicans however…
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He needs to resign but he won’t so that is problematic.
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As much as I dislike Pence, I would much rather see Trump do the honorable thing and resign. But as you said Tony, he won’t, so we all better be prepared for how ugly this is going to get.
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Clinton didnt resign when he was impeached. So what’s going to happen?? Is it okay for a Democrat but not a Republican?
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I was no fan of Bill Clinton’s behavior, but it didn’t rise to the level of what’s coming out now. Despite the damning information that’s already come out, I have the patience to wait and see what happens with the inquiry. Right now though, it’s looking very much like the president extorted Zelensky into promising that he’d reopen the investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden as well as the DNC and Crowdstrike. And to make matters worse, administration officials tried to hide the full transcript on a server reserved for classified intelligence, which this conversation was not. All of this is at the least grossly unethical if not illegal.
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Clinton was asked whether or not he got a blowjob, and was stupid enough to lie to Congress about this. You might, though, wonder why he was being quizzed about that as the endpoint in a multi-million-dollar inquiry into financial misdemeanors that, according to validated history, didn’t exist.
I’m neither Dem nor Pug, but if you ask me which is an impeachable offense — being stupidly in denial about a blowjob or selling my country out to a foreign power — I’ve not got a great deal of difficulty as to which I’d choose.
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I know I already said this, but I can understand Republicans in Congress saying they want more information before they make any statements, but to just try to downplay this has me utterly flabbergasted. I know. I’m naive. This shouldn’t be a partisan issue. No president, I don’t care what party they belong to, NO president should make the release of military or financial aid to another country contingent on that country’s willingness to help them dig up dirt on a political opponent. This is something we should all be able to agree on.
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I couldn’t agree with you more. Yet there are ineffable asses both within and outwith Congress who’re trying to claim that there’s no there there. It is absolutely mind-boggling.
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It’s leaving me extremely frustrated.🤯
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Honestly, the discourse that investigating Trump is somehow fueled by boogie man “radical Leftists” (don’t even get me started on that grotesque falsehood) is absolutely appalling. Given the history of what this “man” has said, done, and is alleged to have done while abusing the highest position of authority it would be criminal NOT to investigate him. The fact that Republicans are rallying around this guy is a sad testament to how entrenched hypocrisy, tribalism, and cults of personality have become in our society. We (and I truly mean that to include everyone) deserve better than this clown.
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It’s Trumps own words and actions that have precipitated this inquiry. He has no one to blame but himself.
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Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
#Whistleblowergate … #Impeach45 … Transcript and Whistelblower Complaint … both here!!
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Unlike so many, I do have some hope that a number of Republican senators will stand for what’s right. Will there be enough of them to sway the vote towards conviction? Probably not, but some erosion of his “official” support could have the effect of dampening his behavior for the remainder of his time in office, second term or not.
I’m actually more alarmed at the prospect of Pence becoming president by default so convicting Trump is not my preferred outcome. Still, I believe this impeachment inquiry is absolutely warranted and necessary.
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Jeff Flake says there are at least 35 who would vote to remove him if it was a secret vote. There’s already been more things coming out like conversations with the Saudi crown prince and at least one conversation with Putin, where the transcripts were handled similarly. And then there’s the Washington Post report that Trump told Russian officials in 2017 he wasn’t concerned about them interfering in the 2016 election. And finally, the Wall Street Journal reported today that John Kelly used to mute the line when Trump veered into sharing sensitive information with other world leaders. I have a feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg and over the next several weeks, there’s going to be a lot more that’s going to come out as the inquiry progresses.
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Oh, yes, there’s much more to come.
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Interesting the way this is all being spun by Faux News and others. According to Media Matters in their weekly update:
“Right-wing media is also insisting that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is moving forward with impeachment only because she has caved to the progressive left; that the inquiry is merely political theater by Democrats; and that this is just the latest in a long list of attempts by the Democratic Party, the elite, and the “deep state” to oust a successful president. These talking points are nearly identical to the ones issued by the White House to minimize the gravity of the impeachment inquiry.”
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Interesting but not that surprising John. What really concerns me are the increasing threats against the whistleblower and whoever spoke with him.
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Two women have accused Boris of squeezing their thighs underneath a luncheon table, remind you of anyone else?
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Unfortunately yes.🤦🏻♀️
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