We’ve already seen how nakedly partisan the Democratic impeachment effort has been against President Donald Trump. Both in the effort since he was elected and the vote that didn’t have one Republican. Indeed, it was the opposition to impeachment which was bipartisan.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi upped the ridiculousness by holding onto the Articles of Impeachment, making it clear this is all about political manipulation.

Now, Rep. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has confirmed that with a new tweet.

Why Pelosi holding the Articles a bit is a good idea:

1) She can send them over whenever she wants.

2) It’s driving Trump and the Republicans crazy.

— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) December 21, 2019

3) It puts the focus on Mitch’s mischief to fix the trial by hiding probative evidence.

4) She has a good point: the kind of trial it will be affects what managers she should send. Particularly after Mitch confessed he’d violate his oath of impartiality, its a fair question.

— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) December 21, 2019

So basically Whitehouse just admitted it’s not about “the Constitution,” high-minded principles or wearing black, being “solemn, or whatever, but simply what it’s always about – their TDS and how they think they can get back at Trump, as always. With a fig leaf that “Mitch McConnell said stuff.”

As Brit Hume points out however, McConnell is basically laughing that Pelosi has put herself in this position.

If that’s true, why is Schumer fuming and McConnell laughing? https://t.co/eiBrVAXrWf

— Brit Hume (@brithume) December 22, 2019

Here’s the problem with this whole approach. This doesn’t give them any leverage for Republicans who don’t want to have impeachment anyway, as Mitch McConnell explained. He doesn’t get what leverage they think they have by doing it. It only makes Democrats look worse and more partisan.

Philly-area investment advisor Rich Weinstein is the guy who busted Jonathan Gruber and Obamacare with the video where Gruber confesses they depended on not being transparent, saying “Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. Call it the stupidity of the America voter, or whatever.”

Weinstein predicted on November 11 that Pelosi would hold the Articles and not pass it along to allow Trump to be acquitted.

Prediction: The House will impeach Trump but never deliver the Articles to the Senate to start the trial. Once they give the Articles to Mitch, he controls the process, the narrative, and the campaigns of the Dem candidates. pic.twitter.com/kgS5Efymoy

— Rich Weinstein (@phillyrich1) November 11, 2019

He wrote an open letter to Trump basically saying let her wallow in the mess she’s put herself in, just keep appointing judges and move along, don’t allow it to be a distraction.

If the whole point was to put a smear on Trump, please the base but not actually move to remove because Pence and just leave it sitting as a point of distraction, it appears to be backfiring more on the Democrats with polls growing against impeachment, Trump approval rising and Trump now leading in battleground states. It allows Trump to point to the unfairness of it all as a rallying cry. Meanwhile Pelosi’s own Democratic expert is calling out her actions, saying Trump is not really impeached until she passes the articles, her actions are not in keeping with the Constitution and that she’s denying the president a fair trial.

Right now Pelosi just seems to be digging herself a bigger hole, while McConnell and Trump are smiling about it. and just saying it proves their points.

HT: Twitchy