We’ve had two inspirational American presidents during our lifetimes - John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama. In different contexts, they requested sacrifice. Kennedy, as an organizing principle for his New Frontier, suggested Americans ask what they could do for their country when juxtaposed with asking what the country could do for them. Obama, in seeking passage of the Affordable Care Act, implicitly asked that some Democratic House members sacrifice their seats so millions could have health insurance. The bill passed, and Republicans won the House in 2010.
After Robert Mueller’s appearance before two House 
committees proved the Special Counsel couldn’t magically make beginning an impeachment inquiry on President Trump easy, we ask what sacrifice Democratic politicians will make in the cause of saving our democracy. Mueller didn’t “move the needle” in favor of impeachment, leaving in place the political reasons for not proceeding. We think, however, impeachment should remain an option and if some Democratic office-holders lose their seats in that process, so be it. America has been attacked. We’re already at war. War comes with casualties.
committees proved the Special Counsel couldn’t magically make beginning an impeachment inquiry on President Trump easy, we ask what sacrifice Democratic politicians will make in the cause of saving our democracy. Mueller didn’t “move the needle” in favor of impeachment, leaving in place the political reasons for not proceeding. We think, however, impeachment should remain an option and if some Democratic office-holders lose their seats in that process, so be it. America has been attacked. We’re already at war. War comes with casualties.
Mueller’s Testimony
We need say little about Mueller’s July 24 testimony. For most of the day, he looked older than his 74 years, fumbling for references in his report and having trouble hearing the questions. He perked up in the afternoon session before the Intelligence Committee, freed from the constraints of obstruction of justice law and anxiously venting his concerns about Russian interference in the 2016 election and the likelihood of a repeat.
Mueller’s halting delivery and snooze-button demeanor 
made for less than compelling television, especially as it unfolded. Edited clips looked better, but pundits still gave the exercise a failing grade and even left-leaning commentators pronounced impeachment dead, especially if Mueller’s appearance was to have turbocharged the process.
made for less than compelling television, especially as it unfolded. Edited clips looked better, but pundits still gave the exercise a failing grade and even left-leaning commentators pronounced impeachment dead, especially if Mueller’s appearance was to have turbocharged the process.
Having said all that, the substance of what Mueller told the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees was compelling. Under focused, disciplined questioning by well-prepared Democrats who swore off grandstanding for efficiency and clarity, Mueller laid out what’s in his 400 plus page report that so few Americans have read. Trump’s bad acts became disgustingly obvious for anyone paying attention. Had any other President committed even one of the sins the testimony covered, that President would have been drummed out of office long ago.
Impeachment and 2020
As the talking heads analyzed impeachment prospects in 
light of Mueller’s day, one piece of reporting caught our eye. A congressional staffer allegedly said impeachment won’t happen because the 218 votes required in the House aren’t there and won’t be there. Thirty-one House Democrats who represent Trump-leaning districts can’t support it. Voting for impeachment supposedly would sound an electoral death knell for these Representatives.
light of Mueller’s day, one piece of reporting caught our eye. A congressional staffer allegedly said impeachment won’t happen because the 218 votes required in the House aren’t there and won’t be there. Thirty-one House Democrats who represent Trump-leaning districts can’t support it. Voting for impeachment supposedly would sound an electoral death knell for these Representatives.
For this reason, Mueller’s appearance barely moved House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She’s insisted she’d rather see Trump in prison than impeached, believing the best way for ridding the nation of him lies at the 2020 ballot box, then perhaps prosecuting him for his crimes after he leaves office.
We get the politics and we desperately want Trump gone too. But we wonder if Speaker Pelosi has considered:
· Trump has already invited foreign intervention in the next election, signaling he’d turn our democratic traditions over to foreign dictators.
· Mueller and American intelligence agencies recognize how serious a problem we have. Mueller wondered if foreign election interference has become “the new normal.” Without impeachment, does that happen?
· With war already underway, perhaps we don’t have the luxury of worrying about political survival of backbench House members.
· Can our relatively young democracy stand eight years of Trump and is the risk of that worth taking?
Mutually Exclusive?
We also question another aspect of Pelosi’s political calculation. Her strategy gives America one shot at getting rid of Trump – the 2020 election. Suppose that shot misses? Wouldn’t two chances be better?
An impeachment inquiry and beating Trump in the election aren’t mutually exclusive. The approaches could, in fact, work hand-in-hand in ridding us of him. It’s true the Senate probably won’t remove Trump, but the facts brought out in an impeachment inquiry could significantly aid the 2020 campaign effort.
Information developed in a full-fledged impeachment inquiry might serve as a powerful weapon for the 2020 Democratic ticket. Impeachment could animate and mobilize the Democratic base. Pundits speak often of Trump’s base, but a Democratic base exists and most of it
wants Trump impeached. A vigorous impeachment inquiry that explains the already exposed Trump crimes could fire up and turn out the Democratic base, especially in the key Midwestern states Hillary Clinton lost in 2016. Turnout in the 2018 mid-terms, especially in the suburbs where women made the difference for Democrats, suggests the potential of an energized electorate.
wants Trump impeached. A vigorous impeachment inquiry that explains the already exposed Trump crimes could fire up and turn out the Democratic base, especially in the key Midwestern states Hillary Clinton lost in 2016. Turnout in the 2018 mid-terms, especially in the suburbs where women made the difference for Democrats, suggests the potential of an energized electorate.
So, we return to sacrifice. If the price of ditching Trump
includes an unpopular impeachment vote and loss of a few congressional seats, perhaps that’s a price worth paying. Most people go into politics claiming they do so not for themselves, but for serving the greater good. Maybe we test that claim. We ask America’s finest young women and men for the ultimate sacrifice in war. Perhaps, in this war, we ask office-holders for the ultimate political sacrifice.
