Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“A growing number of Senate Republicans are ready to acknowledge that President Trump used U.S. military aid as leverage to force Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his family as the president repeatedly denies a quid pro quo.
In this shift in strategy to defend Trump, these Republicans are insisting that the president’s action was not illegal and does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense as the Democratic-led House moves forward with the open phase of its probe.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/growing-number-of-gop-senators-consider-acknowledgingtrumps-quid-pro-quo-on-ukraine/2019/11/01/72084a3e-fcc4-11e9-9534-e0dbcc9f5683_story.html#click=https://t.co/JXbMDWSNFO

They are going with the "Trump did it, nothing wrong with it, get over it" defense.

If they do this we have crossed a Rubicon as a country. We are basically saying that a President - the most powerful person in the world- can use the power of his/her office to coerce a foreign country to produce dirt on a political opponent and then lie about it
and cover it up.
Again I keep coming back to the fact that this phone call occurred the day after Mueller testified and the President felt he would not be held accountable, not even for obstruction of justice
It we say this is also alright what will he do
next?

Anonymous wrote:“A growing number of Senate Republicans are ready to acknowledge that President Trump used U.S. military aid as leverage to force Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his family as the president repeatedly denies a quid pro quo.
In this shift in strategy to defend Trump, these Republicans are insisting that the president’s action was not illegal and does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense as the Democratic-led House moves forward with the open phase of its probe.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/growing-number-of-gop-senators-consider-acknowledgingtrumps-quid-pro-quo-on-ukraine/2019/11/01/72084a3e-fcc4-11e9-9534-e0dbcc9f5683_story.html#click=https://t.co/JXbMDWSNFO

They are going with the "Trump did it, nothing wrong with it, get over it" defense.

“A growing number of Senate Republicans are ready to acknowledge that President Trump used U.S. military aid as leverage to force Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his family as the president repeatedly denies a quid pro quo.
In this shift in strategy to defend Trump, these Republicans are insisting that the president’s action was not illegal and does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense as the Democratic-led House moves forward with the open phase of its probe.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/growing-number-of-gop-senators-consider-acknowledgingtrumps-quid-pro-quo-on-ukraine/2019/11/01/72084a3e-fcc4-11e9-9534-e0dbcc9f5683_story.html#click=https://t.co/JXbMDWSNFO

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/10/24/politics/republicans-donald-trump-taylor-testimony/index.html?__twitter_impression=true

House and senate republicans are more worried about losing their seats if they don't vote for impeachment. Being on the wrong side of this in a purple state or a red state that is not full of tea party types means that they will lose their seats and then Mitch loses the senate and the republicans fail to improve their position in the house.

The other interesting analysis that I saw was that once the senators from states that keep trending toward impeachment have to flip then a few days late many more will flip. It won't be a slow trickle, it will be a large scale change because the other ones will not want to be the "losing" side. There are few zealots who will stand by Trump once he has been impeached the rest of the Trump flock will disavow him. There are plenty in the flock who don't care that he committed crimes and are happy to stay with him as long as he is in power but the minute he loses they'll abandon him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:House REPUBLICAN Marc Amodei (R-NV02) announced he supports the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump
BUT: "[Amodei] is withholding judgment on whether Trump has crossed the legal line."

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/amodei-on-trump-impeachment-inquiry-lets-put-it-through-the-process-and-see-what-happens

Wow. I don't know anything about this guy and assume that any Republicans coming out in favor of the inquiry are in swing districts. Even so, if more of them do, it'll provide cover for others.

“On Thursday, the anti-tax Club for Growth fired a warning shot by releasing a poll from WPA Intelligence showing former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt leading Rep. Mark Amodei 39-35 in a hypothetical GOP primary.
Amodei doesn’t currently face a serious intra-party challenge in his reliably red northern Nevada seat from Laxalt or anyone else, but the Club very much wants to change that. Club president David McIntosh declared, “Rep. Mark Amodei has failed to support conservative principles as well as President Trump during his time in office,” adding, “The message to Republican candidates is clear—cozying up to Democrats on impeachment will result in severe consequences at the ballot box.”

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/24/1894912/-Republican-congressman-finds-himself-in-Satan-s-jaws-for-expressing-openness-on-impeachment

Democrats indulge in wishful thinking about lawmakers turning on Trump. Re Graham he said:

"Sure. I mean ... show me something that ... is a crime," Graham told Axios' Jonathan Swan. "If you could show me that, you know, Trump actually was engaging in a quid pro quo, outside the phone call, that would be very disturbing."

"As to asking China to look into Biden, that was stupid. ... Bad idea. That didn't last very long. I think that's a frustrated Trump."
But Trump's Ukraine call isn't impeachable on its own, Graham said: "I've read the transcript of the Ukrainian phone call. That's not a quid pro quo to me."

The interview was Tuesday, before acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney gave Thursday's "quid pro quo" briefing.
Graham's spokesperson, Kevin Bishop, said Friday that Graham still has not heard or seen anything that he deems impeachable.

https://www.axios.com/graham-hbo-interview-impeachment-trump-1375b703-f723-4a2c-9e15-7366ee25c55b.html

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In another sign of the dangerous predicament facing President Donald Trump, his longtime ally Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said in an interview that aired Sunday night that he could not rule out the possibility of impeachment if new evidence emerges.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/20/politics/lindsey-graham-mitt-romney-impeachment-trump/index.html

You mean this Lindsey Graham?

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/10/20/lindsey_graham_after_talking_to_trump_about_syria_im_increasingly_optimistic_this_could_turn_out_very_well.html

OK. I'm generally not a conspiracy theorist, but....

every time Graham criticizes Trump, then they meet in private, Graham comes out praising Trump. Something smells fishy with Graham. Maybe the Russians do have something on Graham, or someone's got something over this guy. It's just weird that this has happened several times now.

Anonymous wrote:
I don't understand why Graham keeps voicing opposition, only to backtrack and toe the line again. It makes him look really silly. What is he getting out of this? A Trump visit to his re-election campaign?

Lindsey Graham is a textbook sycophant, a bootlicker to the core.