The US House of Representatives has held a historic day of debate Wednesday, which is likely to conclude with US President Donald Trump’s impeachment. If the House votes in favor of the two articles of impeachment, one for abuse of power and the other for obstruction of an investigation by Congress, it will make Trump only the third president in US history to receive such a sanction, with Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson being the other two. As we sit here now at 6 p.m. EST, it looks like the time is nigh. What are we to make of all of this?
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi began Wednesday's session by saying, “Today, as speaker of the House, I solemnly and sadly open the debate on the impeachment of the president of the United States … If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty. It is tragic that the president’s reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice.”
As we await the vote, it appears that Democrats have enough votes to approve the articles of impeachment against Trump. If that happens, the president will face a trial in the Republican-led Senate, where a two-thirds vote would be required to remove him from office. "A vote on Wednesday morning to lay the ground rules for the proceeding signaled that the final outcome — like the debate itself — would fall almost purely along partisan lines, with nearly every Democrat in favor of impeaching Mr. Trump. The test vote was 228 to 197, with just two Democrats voting with Republicans in opposition," the New York Times reported. One of the arguments put forth by the Republicans against the impeachment proceedings is the partisan nature of the process. What does this say about our politics?
When you listen to the Republicans' position of support for the president and opposition to the impeachment inquiry, rarely do they push back with any facts contrary to the Democrats' position. The arguments are just: Dems don’t like the president, this is a witch hunt, and Democrats are abusing the Constitution. Most of the Republicans' arguments don’t pass the laugh test.
GUESTS:
David Rosen — Author of "Sex, Sin & Subversion: The Transformation of 1950s New York’s Forbidden into America’s New Normal." He can be found at www.DavidRosenWrites.com.
Carmine Sabia — Journalist and writer for Citizen Truth.
Dr. Gerald Horne — Professor of history at the University of Houston and author of many books, including "Blows Against the Empire: US Imperialism in Crisis."
Jim Kavanagh — Political analyst and commentator and editor of The Polemicist.
Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War."
Dr. Ajamu Baraka — Journalist, American political activist and former Green Party nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election.
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