Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Nancy Pelosi demonstrates how to control the narrative.


On December 18, 2019, The House of Representatives impeached President Trump for Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress.

The next step in the process is for the Senate to hold a trial. 

Unfortunately, Mitch McConnell the Speaker of the Senate, indicated on October 8, 2019, that he was coordinating preparations for the trial with the White House counsel.  Do you suppose that he forgot that Senators act as jurors in an impeachment trial?  Surely the jury should not be coordinating their efforts with either side.

But he doubled down on December 17th on CNN when he announced: "I'm not an impartial juror."  (Barrett & Zaslav, 2019)

Hmm.  Perhaps he shouldn't be a juror at all then.  And what about that pesky oath he took to uphold the constitution?  Doesn't it preclude attempting to turn an impeachment trial into a sham?

Enter Nancy to the rescue. 

The intrepid Speaker of The House announced on December 19th that she would not send the articles of impeachment to the Senate until they indicated what the rules of the trial would be.  And, wait for it - that it will be a fair trial.  (Hughes & Andrews, 2019)

Then she sent everyone home for the holidays ensuring that the main topic of conversation at family gatherings over the next two weeks will be - "Why won't the Senate hold a fair trial?  What do they have to hide?"  It's brilliant. 

According to an ABC/Washington Post poll released on December 17th, 70% of Americans think that Trump's aides should testify at the trial.  That figure includes 64% of Republicans, 72% of Independents and 79% of Democrats. (Langer, 2019)

So this is not a partisan issue.  But rather one that all Americans care deeply about.  That makes me think some Senators may come back from break with a whole new attitude.

Thanks Nancy.


Barrett, T. & Zaslav, A. (2019, December 17) Mitch McConnell: 'I'm not an impartial juror' ahead of Senate impeachment trial.  cnn.com.  Retrieved December 24, 209, from

Hughes, S. & Andrews, P. (2019, December 20)  Pelosi to Delay Sending Impeachment Articles to Senate.  wsj.com.  Retrieved December 24, 2019, from  https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-house-impeaches-trump-timing-of-next-steps-is-unclear-11576755097

Langer, G. (2019, December 17)  Most expect fair trial for Trump; 7 in 10 say let aides testify (POLL)  abcnews.go.com. Retrieved December 24, 2019, from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/expect-fair-trial-trump-10-aides-testify-poll/story?id=67761813

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