The House impeachment vote went well, as expected. Nearly every Democrat voted for both articles. It was a firm rebuke of Trump, and a good sign for Democrats hoping to move major legislation in 2021.
(Tulsi Gabbard surprised me by voting present in what she called "a stand for the center". I suppose she has to briefly take up centrism in her spiritual journey through all human ideologies. She's done pacifism, homophobia, and Hindu nationalism. Maybe next month it'll be feudalism!)
Pelosi's masterstroke came after the vote. She won't name impeachment managers or send the articles to the Senate until it's clear that McConnell will set up a fair trial.
Legal theorist Laurence Tribe had floated the idea of not even going to the Senate, which I thought would look silly and negate the impact of the House's impeachment vote. But Pelosi timed it perfectly. She held the vote, let the media put up the large-font impeachment headlines, and then revealed her move in a press conference afterwards.
I opposed impeachment until late September of this year when Pelosi went forward with it, because I was worried about what would happen in the Senate. I knew the House part would go well. But I expected McConnell's Senate to deliver a majority-vote acquittal that resembled a Trump birthday party more than a trial.
Now we've had the House vote. Trump is howling on Twitter for his Senate acquittal. But McConnell can't give it to him. Pelosi still controls whether things move forward.
Maybe McConnell will agree to a trial that satisfies Pelosi. But maybe he won't, and the issue will dissolve into partisan bickering over whose fault that is. Then House Democrats will have had their moment in the spotlight to accuse Trump, and Senate Republicans won't have had their moment to absolve him. Trump will go into the election besmirched by impeachment, with his corrupt extortion of an ally revealed to all, and without the closure of an acquittal.
After 14 years of faith in Pelosi's leadership, I trusted her again on impeachment in September. It wasn't exactly blind trust, but I didn't see what could be done about the Senate. Turns out she had tactics for everything.
